


Where Did The Wind Go?

by MintyInk_The_Amateur



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Domestic Violence, Gen, Hurt, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2020-02-26 14:12:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 45,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18718672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MintyInk_The_Amateur/pseuds/MintyInk_The_Amateur
Summary: Morro is dead, and he has no interest in coming back. However, the Elemental Power of Wind finds a new host, and if anything happens to her Morro would gladly tear the barrier between realms down with his own hands. Luckily, he has friends on the other side who can help.





	1. Letters to Uncle

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place after Skybound and DotD, but before Hands of Time, in a bubble of time I like to call "When Everyone's Okay". Cole is human, Nya is a ninja, and Master Wu is still there.  
> My very first fic! I'm really nervous about it, so please leave a comment (Constructive criticism is welcome!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from the POV (point of view) of Dawn, a little girl. The italicized text is the letter she is writing to her Uncle. Who is Dawn? Read and find out!

_Dear Uncle,_  
I wrote on the stolen paper. I have to write, I told myself. He can’t hear me if I don’t.

_Today I walked a whole lot, and I reached the Birch Forest. It’s really cold, but I’m proud of how far I’ve been able to go. I think I may have made it halfway across the continent by now, but I don’t know (it’s only been a few weeks, and I don’t have a map). I’ve been looking for those people you told me about, the ones who can do things as I can, but I can’t find them. Can you give me a clue?_

The question mark came out wobbly because I was shivering. It will do, I told myself. It will have to do. The wind whipped my face, and tears sprang into my eyes. I’m not strong enough, I told myself. Not yet.

_Uncle, I haven’t heard from you in such a long time, and I’m feeling lost. My dreams are empty and I can’t sleep. I need advice. Where do I go? What do I do when I get there? I know I need to find the ones you spoke of, but why? Will they help? Why did I have to leave?_

Another shivering sob escaped me as a lump of snow fell on the back of my unprotected neck. Through the wave of cold, I managed to brush most of the snow off and wrap my ragged blanket tighter around myself, careful to keep the letter protected. I’m low on supplies, I told myself. I can’t afford rewrites.

_I’ll keep going, Uncle. I trust you. I hope you’ll visit soon, it’s been pretty lonely and I haven’t seen anybody in a couple of days. That’s a good thing, I guess. Being alone means I can practice and nobody will see. I’ve been practicing, Uncle, and I’m getting better, at least I hope so. The longer I go and the harder I train, the easier the journey will be. You told me that, Uncle, and I believe you. I hope to hear from you soon. Love, Dawn._

I finished the letter with my personal grown-up signature, the one I had been practicing since I was little. I loved my signature, with a little curl in the corner of the D and a curly line underneath it like all the famous people had. I admired my handiwork for a moment, slipping my pen into the patchwork pocket on my dress. I was careful to avoid the hole in the side. I hoped I didn’t lose my pen, or else I’d have to find a village and steal another one. I hated stealing, especially from the nice people I met in towns I passed through, but sometimes it was necessary. I needed a pen and paper to write to Uncle, and I needed to write to keep myself going.

Now that I’d finished it, it was time to send it to my Uncle. There were no mailmen around, and besides, the mailman couldn’t reach my Uncle. There was only one solution: burial.  
I folded the letter nicely and held it between my teeth for safekeeping as I dug, moving fast to minimize contact between my little hands and the burning cold snow. I hit the dirt, scraped out a shallow indent with my fingernails, and placed the letter nicely in the hollow I had made. I covered it quickly, saying a small prayer to whatever was up there that maybe, just maybe Uncle could reply this time.

I had only just finished when I hear a creepy creaking sound. I jumped, standing straight up and flattening myself against the tree I was under, listening carefully. Another creak and I realized it was not another tree monster, but a metal-on-metal kind of screech. I turned and beheld a scene that should not have been in the middle of a forest. An unusually thick tree, with a door hanging open on its side. Squinting, I could see metal paneling inside. Tentatively, I stepped up to the entrance, and slipped inside, finding myself on a metal staircase.

I descended, my footsteps tapping against each sturdy stair. At the bottom, I was ecstatic to find a house of sorts, including supplies and cabinets surely full of food. I took a wary step toward a desk near the base of the stairs, and ran a cold finger over it, pulling it back with a thick layer of dust. This base was most likely abandoned a while ago, though the reason anyone would abandon food and supplies was beyond me. I tapped to the kitchen, scrambling about every surface I could reach, taking anything edible and piling it in a corner. Then, I moved to the desk, covered with what appeared to be blueprinted. On the back of a rickety desk chair sat an empty gray knapsack, which I filled with all the food, paper, and pens it could hold. My supplies newly restored, I turned to the final side of the base.

A bed! I rushed to it, almost flinging myself onto the first bed I had seen in weeks before I noticed something lying on it. A picture, yellowed from time and exposure, of an old man with glasses, and a teenage boy in white-the man’s son, I assumed. There was love in their eyes, and it was clear what the photograph meant. This is our family, it sang, and this place is our home. I carefully plucked the picture off of the bed-frame and all- and slid it into the backpack. I am small, I told myself, but I can still carry memories.

With that, I was ready for sleep. I kicked off my frozen shoes and curled up on the bed, using the thick covers to their full advantage. This was a sign from Uncle, I told myself, that I was on the right track. This, a safe and warm place to sleep, was far more than I ever could have imagined. Tomorrow, I promised, I would train for longer and harder as penance. The wind howled like a demon outside, but I slipped uncaringly into dreamland.  
According to Uncle Morro, I wouldn’t have to worry about wind much longer.


	2. Old Friend, New Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kai's POV. A dream leaves Kai shaking, and the Ninja with a new mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait a week before posting this, but I got too excited. Again, constructive criticism is appreciated!

_998._ I strained, pushing up with what little strength I had reserved at the beginning of my nightly workout.

 _999._ Almost there, I told myself. Just one more, big guy.

 _1000_. I collapsed on the mat I was using, proud and tired at the same time. Trying to do 1000 pushups on its own was an ordeal, but with the added weight of tiredness and the weighted vest that I wore turned the workout into a Ninja-level ordeal. I shakily stood, searching the deck of the Bounty for anyone to brag to talk to. Nobody around, I noted. They must have already gone to bed. I took a deep breath of the dusk air, stretching my arms up to the sky.  
I rolled up my mat and flung it and my weighted vest into the supply closet as I approached the hall of bedrooms. Choruses of ‘Goodnight, Kai’ echoed from each door as I passed it. I reached my room and stumbled wearily in, not bothering to take off my tank top or shorts. I collapsed on my bed.  
I found myself suddenly back on the deck of the Bounty. Confused, I turned in a slow circle, noting the strange feeling of my surroundings. The sky was black, but there was no moon, no stars. No earth below, I realized, just blackness. My eyes landed on a small spot of blue on the deck, not too far from my right, but just out of arm’s reach  
“What in the world..?” I muttered, taking a careful step forward. The spot grew bigger in an instant, making me jump. The spot continued to grow, molding itself into a wave of dark water and continuing to expand. How can there be water on a boat in the sky, I wondered. Immediately, the Bounty gave a lurch, dropping rapidly from the suddenly much-increased height. I grabbed the Bounty’s railing, which dissolved like sand in my grip. I tried to scream, but no sound came out, leaving me in freefall, the voice ripped from my throat.

“Kai”

A small voice behind me called, barely audible through the deafening silence. I turned, and my eyes landed on a face I knew too well. Morro, barely a foot away from my face. Some small part of me wanted to bring up my hands -to attack or defend, the reason escaped me- but the look on his face stopped me. His black hair, trademark green stripe and all, was flushed up with inaudible wind. His eyes were no longer vengeful but filled with desperation and -I realized later- a small glimmer of hope. Morro pressed something into my chest, about the size of a piece of paper, with a vinyl feel to it-a photograph.  
“Save her,” he said, again and again, louder and louder. Save her, save her, save her. I held onto the photograph for dear life, trying to speak. Who is she, I wanted to scream. Who is she? Where is she? Why are you here? Although I strained, the voice in my throat would not come out, and I could only hear Morro’s pleas as I sped like a comet toward the inky sea below.

“PLEASE.”

I hit the water.  
I bolted up in bed, breathing heavily. I looked down and realized that I was holding something; a photograph. A tan little girl stared up from the picture. Straight black hair framed her small face, with shining dark eyes and a smile that was missing a front tooth.

“It wasn’t just a dream-” I started, before bolting out of bed and sliding into the hallway. Through my panic, I heard voices through the walls- everyone was at breakfast. I tore through the ship, the photograph still tightly held in hand, and burst into the dining room shouting for attention. Everyone sitting at the table- Sensei Wu, Lloyd, Cole, Jay, and Nya- turned to look.  
“Guys, I just had a dream with Morro in it, and I don’t think it was just a dream!” The table exploded with questions, only to be completely shut off by Wu standing and hitting his staff against the ground.  
“Explain,” Wu said simply, softly. It was not a question, so I began to speak. I explained the dream, the boat, and the wind and the photograph. I was so caught up in my story I hadn’t noticed Zane strolling out of the kitchen, still in his pink apron. Quicker than I could blink, the Titanium Ninja had snatched the photograph out of my hand and turned away.

“Hey! What was that for?” I realized the reason before I’d finished my sentence. Of course, he’d thought ahead. If we needed to save this girl, we needed to know who and where she was. Jay furrowed his brow and spoke.  
“Why would Morro want us to find some girl? Why does he care?”  
“Because” Wu replied, turning to face the window, “The girl bears a striking resemblance to Morro when he was a boy. She is a relative, maybe a cousin or a niece” Everyone drank his words in, slowly realizing what they meant. Eyes grew wide, and hearts pounded.  
“I fear this girl may have inherited Morro’s power. She may be the next Elemental Master of Wind, and Morro sent you that sign because he wants us to train her”  
He tapped me in the chest lightly with the end of his staff, emphasizing the point.  
“It must have taken Morro an incredible amount of energy to send that dream, and I’d hate to disappoint my first student.”  
“We… we have...we have a problem.” came Zane’s voice from the bridge, and everyone scrambled to the main computer, breakfast forgotten. On the screen blinked a large version of the photograph, along with a list of the girl’s statistics. Zane read off the screen, going down the list.

Name: Dawn Carter

Age: 7

Gender: F

Parents: Anne-Marie Carter and Joseph Miller; recently divorced.

“I don’t understand, what’s the problem?” I interjected, pushing past Zane go get closer to the screen  
“The problem, _Kai_ -” Zane nudged past me, tapping keys until the screen switched to the police database. “-is that eight weeks ago, Dawn was reported missing.” The room erupted in questions again, quickly drowned out by Zane’s frantic tapping. Images popped up on the screen, emphasizing each word Zane used.  
“Shortly after their divorce was finalized, Dawn’s parents discovered several things missing from the house, including paper and pens, food, and Dawn herself. Everyone in the village was questioned, and foul play was ruled out.”  
“She ran away from home?” Jay squeaked, appalled by the idea. Silence overtook the room, wondering what could cause a child to leave home. I remembered Morro.

“Not away.” I started, squinting at the screen. “Toward. She’s looking for us.”  
More furious tapping filled the room as Zane calculated distance, travel time, and obstacles. We had been stationed all over the continent, so finding Dawn was going to be a hassle.  
“According to the average miles per day traveled by someone of that size, the distance between Dawn’s village and New Ninjago City, accounting for…” he trailed off, absorbed in his work. I stared at the screen, studying the features of this little girl. Short, dark hair, bright eyes- she looked a bit like Nya at that age. The realization hit me like a bus. Morro wasn’t trying to save this girl because she was powerful, but because she was family. His family.  
I won’t fail you, I whispered in my brain. I’ll keep her safe. I promise.  
“There is no conclusive destination..” Zane concluded, disappointment weaving its way through his words, “There are too many variables, too many paths. She could be anywhere!”

“Alright, guys. Let’s think” Lloyd interjected. “How do we find a single kid, when she could be anywhere on the continent? We need to start somewhere.” Hands went to chins and six pairs of eyes glued themselves to the map on the screen. Wu turned and left, probably to meditate or put the kettle on. The map featured multicolored dots, each corresponding to a village, town, or city. There was one dot that was blinking, a purple one near the southern tip of the continent.  
“Zane,” I called attention, pointing at the blinking dot, “Where is that?”  
“That is Dawn’s hometown, Kozan. A mining village, if I’m not mistaken.”  
I stepped forward, pointing to the dot more excitedly.  
“If we don’t know where she is, why don’t we check where she’s been?”  
Realization dawned in everyone’s eyes, and five heads swiveled to face Lloyd, asking for approval. The Green Ninja thought for only half a second, and his face set in determination.

“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s find ourselves an Elemental Master.”


	3. You Would Think

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lloyd's POV. Trying to locate Dawn, the gang travel to her hometown and start realizing why she left

 

_ You know, you’d think after an evil father, an absentee mother, being raised in an evil school, being kidnapped by snake-people, surviving the Snake-Pocalypse, being robbed of your childhood in all possible senses of the phrase… _

I paced along the creaking deck of the Bounty, hands wringing and head spinning. A gentle, cool breeze brushed through my hair, unnoticed.

_...Becoming the most powerful being in the world, fighting said evil father in an ‘ultimate battle’ and managing to save him, losing a friend in a battle with a digital Overlord, mourning said friend for a year with practically no support (looking at you, Lumberjack and Mr. Makeup!)... _

I glanced at the sun; high and bright, then the ground over the starboard side; quiet and green.

_...Having to fight in a tournament to get said friend back (which turned out to be a ploy to absorb all elemental power in the world) and having to banish the dad you JUST GOT BACK… _

My eyes finally landed on the gray little village over the port side. I clenched the railing in a vice-like grip, getting tighter with every thought that hit my brain.

_ Then being possessed by a GHOST, being USELESS when the fate of the entire UNIVERSE is at stake, and having to destroy the ONE CHANCE of ever seeing your father again… _

“Dude, watch the railing! Lloyd!” I snapped back to the present, suddenly aware of the splinters digging through my gloves into my hands as the railing broke under my grip. I jumped back, directly into Kai. He caught my hands as I spun around.

“Dude, you’ve been pacing for hours. What’s gotten into you?” The concern was etched into his face and his voice, and admittedly, it was justified. Since we had been given this mission by Morro -somehow from beyond the grave, another frustration- I hadn’t been...taking care as I should have. I had been eating less, sleeping less, breaking rails more than I cared to admit. The deck of the Bounty was riddled with hand-shaped indents, and this was my third (and last) pair of gloves. You would’ve thought that after everything that happened to me, that I could handle wrangling one kid, but you’d be wrong.

“It’s this kid, Kai,-” I admitted, voice a little heavier than I wanted. “A little kid with untapped powers, without an adult to rely on, alone in who-knows-where… it’s just a little too- a bit too... familiar”

“I get it.” Understanding shone in his eyes, and that I was grateful for. Usually, I got apologies and pity for my past, which did absolute jack for anyone. The team only understood and tried to make it better, and Kai was my number one supporter, like the big brother I never had.

“Don’t worry, green bean-” Kai gave me a noogie, not too subtly pulling me away from the railing, “We’ll find her, and then you can worry and fuss as much as you want. For now, it’s lunchtime, and then we knock on some doors.” He took a hold onto my sleeve, striding toward the mess hall with me stumbling in tow. Lunch was a blur of small talk and sandwiches, and all too soon I felt the Destiny descending.

My first impression of Kozan was; empty. A quick sweep of the village via drone cameras registered barren streets, closed shops, and enough dust to give dragons asthma. Then, the smell hit me. For at least an hour beforehand, I had been surrounded by the fragrance of jasmine tea and perfectly toasted bread. I stepped out of the Bounty and gagged, failing spectacularly to hide the noise. The blanket of gasoline fumes and smoke smothered the village like the entire place was doused in fuel. I turned to face the rest of the Ninjas as they exited the Bounty, with only Cole gagging as hard as I did. Of course, Jay was an inventor and the Smiths had grown up in a blacksmith shop. Zane, I assumed, had already turned off his sense of smell. Wu would not be joining us, for whatever reason.

“Alright, gang-” The words still felt strange in my mouth. After being possessed for weeks, it was weird to be giving orders again. “-We’ll split up, search for any clues that can help us find out where Dawn might be. Jay and Nya, sweep the village. Talk to anyone and everyone you meet.” Their faces lit up, elated to spend time with each other, but were quickly masked with professional determination. Lightning and water turned and went together, hands intertwined.

“Kai and Cole, you’re in charge of finding Dawn’s mom.” To my left, Zane handed the earth ninja a small strip of paper, the proper address neatly printed. “According to the database, Annemarie got custody in the divorce, so be sure to check Dawn’s room for a journal, letters, anything like that.” Earth and fire nodded, flipping their hoods up and disappearing from sight. I turned to face the final remaining friend. “Zane, you and I are going to find Mr.Miller. Address?” 

“2403 Awl Street.” And with three simple words and a flip of our hoods, we were off. The village, I slowly realized, was a lot bigger and more confusing than it had looked. Hills upon hills riddled with potholes and alleyways. Any street signs not torn down were facing the wrong direction. I found myself walking, then running, faster and faster, sidewalk pounding, clipping corners and breathing heavy. I nearly ran into a wall before a cold hand caught the back of my gi. Zane, being a good foot taller than I-and also made of metal- held me in a deadlift, like a cat. 

“Lloyd, your heart rate is far more elevated than necessary. Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,  _ Zane, _ ” I said a little too pointedly, grimacing at my tone.

“Alright, but you should know we’re here” Zane set me down and gestured to the decaying- well, it could barely be called a house anymore- with a faded “#4#3” above the wicker door. My heart caught in my throat, had Dawn been forced to live here? How had she- 

Zane stopped my runaway train of thought with a hand on my shoulder.

“Mr. Miller moved in here after his divorce was finalized. Anne-Marie and Dawn took the house.”  I breathed a sigh of relief, which was cut short when Zane knocked on the door.

“The door...the… the door…” a deep, slurring voice called, “Is...is open” I hesitated for one, two, ten heartbeats before I pushed the almost-door open and stepped through. No lights, I noticed. Complete darkness hid in the one-room shacks’ nooks and crannies, individual spots illuminated by cracks in the walls and ceiling, as well as the stream coming through the open door. Once again, the smell of my surroundings hit me like a train. The air inside the shack had gone stale and sour with rotten food and old alcohol, as well as another hit from the fumes outside. I thanked the stars above that I had my mask over my nose, or else I might’ve fainted from the sheer  _ stink  _ of the place. A moldy hay bale sat in the nearest corner, ragged blankets tossed haphazardly at the foot of the almost-bed. A dying fire and a stack of cans in various stages of consumption lay in the other two quiet corners. The only noise in the shack came from the final and farthest corner, where the slumped form of Mr. Miller sat at a rickshaw table.

“Sir?” I began, taking a cautious step forward, “We came to ask you…”

“No!” A large, calloused hand came down on the table, and we jumped.

“No,” Mr. Miller spat, the word just as angry as the first “I didn’t... I didn't kill the brat. She...she ran away, just like her useless mother, the ******* ****”

My heart went into overdrive. After facing five near-apocalypses, I was genuinely afraid of this man. I glanced at the piles of empty bottles and… oh. Oh no. 

_ That’s why she left. _

“Sir, we just want to…” Zane was cut off by a glass bottle shattering a little too close to where we were standing, but it didn’t matter. I had already grabbed his lapels and pulled him out of that awful shack. Without letting go, we ran and didn’t stop until we were well away from Mr. Miller and the shack of horrors. The adrenaline wore off after a few minutes, and Zane and I shared a look. Without speaking, we knew what the other was thinking. Priority one was to locate Dawn. Priority two was to keep Dawn as far away from here as possible. Priority three was much less our usual style, but necessary all the same; Vengeance.


	4. One Good Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn's POV. Dawn is nearing the capital and stumbles upon some much-needed help, albeit in a strange and slightly chaotic form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 and still going! I'll try to update more regularly, but the end-of-year school rush is kicking up, so please be patient if it takes a while. I'm aiming for about 15-20 chapters as an endgame, so keep reading! You're all wonderful! :)

I tilted my head so that it rested softly against the train window, letting the soft clickety-clack of the rails below lull me into a half-sleep, settling in for my fourth night on the train. I could not fully sleep yet, not until I reached my destination. It was hot, very hot in the luggage compartment of the train I had snuck onto, but at least it was warmer than the Birch Forest. Any wind I tried to summon was as hot as the air around me, so I resigned myself to a sweltering ride. I pressed myself closer to the wall, feeling the rectangular picture frame from the treehouse-lab pressing into my shoulders, as a reminder of what I carried in my simple gray backpack. And, I reminded myself, the train was moving so much faster than I could on foot, I could reach the capital by nightfall. The capital was my hope’s desire, so much to see and do that nobody would notice a little girl trying to find her way. Nobody would see me glance at their map, or dig through their trash so I could feed myself. 

_ Again, Dawn?  _ I chastised myself. _ How much do you need to steal? _

_ Enough _ , I answered,  _ Enough to get me where Uncle showed me. _

A click by the door of the cabin caught my attention and I darted back behind a luggage rack so the conductor couldn’t see me. I had heard stories from other kids, about what they do to people who snuck on trains. I couldn’t risk whatever was true, I was too close. However, it wasn’t the tall conductor in the neat suit, but a man in strange armor and a red straw hat. I glimpsed him through the luggage rack, trying to figure out who he might be. It was only when he pulled out a hairpin and set to work on a suitcase that I realized I was three feet away from a criminal. My heart sped up, and I tried to choke down my fear, but I wasn’t strong enough and a strangled whimper escaped me. The noise was small, but it was enough. The man’s head whipped around the cabin, one visible eye narrowed and shifting. Fear overtook me as I began to shake, curling up into a tight ball and praying that he wouldn’t...he couldn’t…

The brim of a red hat swiveled around the corner of the luggage cart, and I felt myself freeze as the stone cold gaze of a career criminal fell upon me. For a split second, our faces were locked on each others’, and then his softened. 

“Holy cripes, it’s a kid…” Conflict crossed his scarred face. “Where are your parents?”

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I was too scared, too hot, too tired to explain. The strange man in the hat tried again, taking a knee and speaking with a softer voice.

“Hey, little lady. What are you doin’ back here? Where are your folks?” Again I tried and failed, so I just shook my head and curled up tighter. The conflict moved to inside his heart, and I knew then that he wouldn’t hurt me. I shifted, uncoiling slightly, just enough for him to notice. He does, and a small smile crossed his face. He offered me a hand, and I hesitated.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, kid. I just wanna help.” Tentatively, I put my hand in his. He did not pull me to stand, but only acted as a support as I shakily rose. I noted this and smiled a little easier. The man smiled in return, before letting my hand go and walking toward the door to the cabin, propping it open for me.  _ This man does not trust easily, he allows others to show their characteristics and make decisions for themselves. I can respect that. _

I followed him through to the passenger car and sat in the booth he gestured to, relishing silently in the cooled air and the plush seats, my backpack pressing comfortingly into my shoulders. He sat next to me, and my heart skipped a beat before I realized his reasoning. When the ticket-man came through, the man simply had to hand over his own ticket, and I was left unbothered. The ticket-man left the car, and Mr. Red Straw Hat turned and spoke again, using the same calm and hushed voice.

“I’m Ronin. What’s your name, kiddo?” I found my voice returning, aided by the improved conditions.  _ Perhaps this man- Ronin- could be trusted. Perhaps, but stay cautious. _

“Dawn” I did not mention my surname, not that it meant anything anymore.

“Well Dawn, we’ve got a few hours left on the train, and this place is a lot better for snoozing than the baggage car. Here, take these.” He pulled a thin pink blanket and a dark brown something else from a bag under the seat, gesturing for me to take them. I did and realized the something was a teddy bear, still plush and in good condition. I held it in reverence, I had never seen a toy in such good condition before, they were always broken or faded back...back before I set out. Mr. Ronin took notice of my enamored stare, and smiles.

“Never had too many toys, did you? Well, keep that one. It’s a gift.” My gaze shifted to his face, and I could tell he grew up in a place like I did. This was a way to break the cycle of children without toys or joys, assisting and gifting was his way of coping with his childhood. Then, I remembered his lockpicking in the luggage car.  _ Perhaps he’s only this generous with children. Seems more than fair. _

“Thank you, Mr. Ronin,” I whispered, and a slightly confused look crossed his face only for a second before melting into a smile again.  _ This was a man not used to respect. _

“You’re welcome, kiddo. Now, try to get some rest.” Mr. Ronin shifted the thin blanket so it covered most of me, careful to avoid physical contact -another thing I respected about him. Clutching the  teddy bear- _my_ teddy bear- close, leaning against the window, I felt myself melt into the clickety-clack of the rails below. Perhaps Mr. Ronin was a sign from Uncle as well, a saving grace. Of all the people in the world, the career thief had shown me the most kindness.  _ If there is one good man, there must be others, _ the hopeful part of me whispered, p _ erhaps the others that Uncle spoke of.  _ I pushed the thoughts aside. Constant obsession over a single goal could drive one mad, and I needed rest. For the first time since the Birch Forest, I closed my eyes and relaxed. I let myself slip away, trusting Mr. Ronin to wake me when the time was right.  _ Trust! _ In my final moments of consciousness, I relished in the word and said a small prayer asking for more in the future.


	5. After-Dinner Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skylor's POV. A normal night at the noodle house turns out much more strange and friendly than expected

       

     I stood over the hot stove, music blasting just soft enough so the patrons outside couldn’t hear. _This needs more salt Is that done yet Don’t forget the noodles More butter or it won’t brown Did I forget the DUMPLINGS I FORGOT THE DUMPLINGS!_ I rushed about the restaurant’s expansive kitchen, a thousand and a half thoughts zipping past. Every few minutes, a *ding* would sound somewhere behind me, and I’d have to turn around and make a mental note of _another_ thing I’d have to cook.  Dinner rushes made me wish my father was still running a noodle sweatshop under my house, but only for a minute. Then I’d catch a glimpse of the photo of Kai and I stuck up on the fridge and I’d smile and turn back to the pot of water that _somehow boiled over in the three seconds my back was turned._

     By the time the beeping stopped and the dinner rush slowed, six o’ clock had ticked through seven and into eight, then nine. Over the next two hours, I clean the mess I was too preoccupied to deal with during the rush. Pots were scrubbed, stacks on stacks of plates were stuffed through the dishwasher, and buckets of rancid grease were coaxed out of machinery -accompanied by a symphony of gags. I stole a lot of glances at the photo on the fridge when I was cleaning the kitchen, especially after a stressful rush.  I stood in the doorway of the kitchen, admiring my handiwork, and glanced at the clock on the wall. Closing time, or close enough to it. I smelled like grease and looked like hell’s oven scrapings, but anyone diving in for a bowl of noodles at 11 P.M. most likely wouldn’t care if I was a snake in a party hat.

     The broom was nestled in the corner like it always was, and I started to sweep the floor. Humming a vague pop song, I went back and forth, rounding corners and making piles. Every once in a while the piles would get too big and I’d plop the dustpan on the floor, pressing down on the handle to avoid that awful left-over line of dust. I was on the second verse of the third song when the doorbell rang. I turned with a retail-worker smile on my face when my eyes landed on none other than Ronin. _Okay,_ that’s _the kind of guy that eats noodles at 11 P.M._

    “Evening, Ronin.” My retail smile dropped into a smaller yet genuine one. I gestured over to the far end of the restaurant. “There should be an unclosed table over there.” His friendly smile matched mine, and he twisted and reached behind himself. It was only when he twisted back around did I realize he had a little girl with him, her hand tightly in his. She was small, maybe eight or nine, with messy dark hair covering part of her face. A simple, ragged gray dress hung off her small frame, and she clutched a brand-new teddy bear in her other hand. _Odd. An old dress but a new toy?_

     “Who’s this?” The girl flinched when I spoke, and squeezed Ronin’s hand a little tighter. He noticed and glanced back at her, and then at me.

     “Oh, right. Skylor, this is Dawn. Dawn-” he said, turning and gesturing between the girl and I. “This is Miss Skylor, she owns the restaurant.” Dawn shifted her gaze toward me, less fearful but still wary. I, however, was still hopelessly confused. _Did Ronin have a kid without telling anyone?_

      “Hello, Miss Skylor” Dawn’s voice was kind and very quiet for a little girl. She kept her eyes on me as she followed Ronin into an open booth, placing her teddy bear reverently on the seat next to her. Ronin ordered two original noodle bowls, so I shrugged away the questions in my head and ducked into the kitchen, preparing the meals with practiced precision. I hesitated for two moments, then prepared one for myself as well. I carried them out on a tray, comfortably heavy and easily balanced. Confusion crossed their faced when they realized the presence of the third bowl, but it was quickly replaced with recognition and contentment. I gave the two their bowls, then took mine and scooted in next to Ronin. Dawn’s eyes went wide at the sight of the meal before her, and she glanced up at Ronin hopefully. He nodded and she dug in, eating slowly and savoring every bite.

      “So,” I picked up my chopsticks and stirred the bowl, sending pepper flakes and green onion swirling in the steaming broth. “Is there something you should tell me?” Once again confusion crossed Ronin’s face, and I gestured toward Dawn with my chopsticks.

       “Oh! Oh no, she’s not mine.” He chuckled nervously, realizing what I had been thinking. Dawn stifled a giggle from across the table. “We stumbled across each other, and I’m helping her find her way.” _Find her way? Why not ‘find her way home?’_

       “Oh no, did you get lost?” Dawn stopped and placed her chopsticks down, fidgeting as her gaze fell on me. She quickly shook her head no, and explained again in a soft voice.

       “I’m looking for some...some family friends. My uncle gave me some directions, but I got lost. They should be somewhere in the city, so I just have to find them.” She glanced at Ronin, who continued the explanation

        “After dinner, I’m gonna drop her off at the police station so they can find her friends. ” Dawn nodded, a mouthful of noodles making it impossible to speak. I waited until she swallowed, and spoke quickly

       “So Dawn, what’s your favorite color?” Usually, small children loved these kinds of questions and would jump at the chance to talk endlessly about colors and what they mean. To my surprise, she took a solid minute before answering with a single word. Apparently, she liked purple. I tried again, talking about my favorite color-orange- and getting Ronin to do the same. It took some coaxing, but Dawn slowly warmed up to me.

_She likes cats better than dogs but likes reptiles the best because they’re quiet especially turtles. She’s seven years old-eight next month-, and her teddy bear is named Professor Bean Sprout. She doesn’t like to talk about her parents, for reasons she won’t give. She talks with her hands a lot. She seems apprehensive when you first meet her and then warms up to you._

         I was telling a funny story about the first time I tried to make dumplings, using a scratchy squeak to represent my father’s voice as he yelled at me. Dawn giggled like a maniac at every line, and I got so into the story I didn’t notice my now-empty bowl on the table’s edge. My hand hit the side, and the ceramic bowl flew off the side of the table. I flinched, expecting a crash of pottery on tile and the mess resulting. The air stayed silent, and I opened my half-closed eyes to rest upon something that _should not have been happening_.

         The bowl was… floating. Just two inches from the ground, the bowl bounced on a twisting air bubble, barely visible under the restaurant’s synthetic light. I turned my head, and there was Dawn, holding her hand out and straining slightly. She glanced at my face and drew her hand back, the bowl dropping to the floor immediately. I stared at the child in amazement, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ronin making much the same face. Dawn, in stark contrast, looked _absolutely terrified._ Her arms pinned by her side, she stared at us wide-eyed, waiting for a reaction.

        “Dawn, you’re....” I started, losing my voice. Ronin picked the line of dialogue up.

        “You’re an Elemental!” Dawn flinched again, and I realized she was not awaiting a reaction, but a blow. _If I ever find who hurt this girl I’ll rip off their-_ I locked _that_ thought aside for another day, and smiled reassuringly as I slowly scooted out of the booth. Slowly, slowly I took Dawn’s hands in mine. Her eyes met mine, filling with realization, and hope.

     “Dawn, you were born with extraordinary power. This is an absolute miracle, and I hope you know that.” Ronin moved so he was beside me, kneeling and placing a hand on Dawn’s shoulder. Hope sparked in her dark eyes, and she gave us a small, gap-toothed smile.

      “Kid, I think I know where to find those friends of yours.”


	6. Catching Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang knows where Dawn is. The problem? They have to get there. Cole's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm following a bit of a pattern here with the POVs. Dawn, other, other. Next up? Little Miss Dawn Meets The Crew!

_So this kid, Dawn, is apparently related to Morro- she calls him ‘uncle’ but that may just be a ‘kid-ism’- and she can_ control _the_ Wind _! Ain’t it incredible? I’m so proud!_

Keep it together Ronin, you’re not her dad.

_Alright alright, don’t patronize me, Skylor. Anyway, we’d really appreciate it if you helped the kiddo with her powers and whatnot. Send a message back with a time and place!_

Ronin, look! She’s hovering!

_Holy Moley! Ain’t that cra-_

 

The video feed cut out, and the room fell silent. The silence was quickly broken by the Bounty’s resident motormouth, Jay.

“She was going to New Ninjago City the WHOLE TIME?” His hands caught fists of his own hair and he began to pull anxiously, eyes glued to the screen where Ronin’s video had previously appeared. Nya pried the fingers on his right hand off of his hair and intertwined his fingers with hers. Jay’s ramblings slowed to a murmur at the touch, and I took the opportunity to speak before anyone else could freak out.

“This is a _good_  thing, guys. Now we know that Dawn’s safe, and we know where she is.”

Kai scoffed from behind me, drawing the eyes of the room.

“Ronin isn’t what I would call a ‘safe person’, rockhead. It’s just as likely as any that Ronin loses her on the street or sells her for a fancy vase. I say we move, and we move _fast.”_

“Ronin sounded fond of the girl in the video.” Zane interjected, “And he helped us defeat Morro in the first place. The probability of Ronin hurting Dawn is immeasurably small.” His voice dropped to a sarcastic, provoking tone. “What is much more likely is that Kai just wants to see Skylor.”

Kai quickly ducked out of the room, muttering a nondescript excuse and holding his arms up to hide his red face. Lloyd, stationed at the controls, sighed and went to turn the thrusters up. Even at our fastest, we wouldn’t be able to get there for an entire day. Everyone knew this and quickly left the room to strap in for 24 hours of general nervousness. The afternoon sun blared through the windows, and the walls began to whisper.

_What happens if we don’t get there in time? What if something happens to Dawn? What if the Bounty crashes? What if there’s an earthquake? What if there’s a flood? What if we get there, but Dawn doesn’t like us? What if she can’t control her powers?_ The endless ‘What If’s circulated unspoken through the air (well, Jay did plenty of speaking, but still) and seemed to displace the oxygen in everyone’s blood, defaulting the entire crew to the same jumpiness we experienced before a battle. Lloyd paced by my door, and I flinched. The tea kettle whistled through the walls, and I felt my heart speed up. Of course, Jay would be much worse across the hall; anxiety always got to him first. He, however, had Nya. I had three comforts; Food, which (according to Zane) was an unhealthy coping mechanism. Training on the deck, which was already being used by a _very angry_  sounding Kai. Finally, art. With a sigh, I reached into my side table and pulled out my sketchbook and pen.

_What do I want to draw? The Bounty? No, I already have tons of those. A sunset? Not very easy to draw with a single pen. Dawn? Maybe as a gift? Sounds good._ I grabbed my phone and pulled up the picture of Dawn that Morro had given Kai, and started to sketch. Two long hours of sketching later, I was about to scream in frustration. I drew as close as I could to the picture, but every sketch turned out Morro. They had the same hair, eye, and skin color, how was it possible that I couldn’t see a difference? How much did Morro look like this kid- the thought stopped in its tracks. _Kid._ I took a deep breath and drew slowly. I made her eyes a little brighter, her brows unfurrowed, her grin a little wider and more childish. I thought back to the conversation I had had with Dawn’s mother back in Kozan. Anne-Marie -a dark, round woman with a sad look in her eyes- had all but burst into tears when I had mentioned her daughter.

_It’s my own fault,_ she had sobbed like her very soul was being washed away, _I waited so long to get her away from that awful man, I did nothing for so long. She was such a beautiful child, I’d straighten her hair on the days we had heat so she looked nice. Now,_ an especially hard sob had escaped her at that moment and she had put a hand on the wall to steady herself, _Now my only child is dead and gone. She has to be gone, or else I’d never think of anything else because I’d be the reason she ran away. She has to be, has to be gone. Don’t give me hope, sir. I wouldn’t know what to do with it. She’s gone, and I can move on._ It was then that Kai had returned from searching Dawn’s room, and we had had to leave, Anne-Marie sobbing into the doorframe. I glanced back at the photo. Dawn’s hair wasn’t naturally straight, so I drew it wavy, with more volume.

“There we go,” I said to nobody in particular, “That’s what Dawn looks like.” The dinner bell rang, and I left for the mess hall in high spirits. Dinner was a long one that felt short, and after one final workout and a hot shower, I collapsed on my bed, smiling at the picture of Dawn as I drifted off. _We’re coming to get you, buddy. We’re almost there._

The next morning was just like any other on the Bounty. Zane woke up first to make breakfast, talking aloud to Pixal as he flipped pancakes. Wu was up next, then Kai, Nya, and I. We all sat down as Zane scooted in from the kitchen carrying trays of food, with Jay sliding in just in the nick of time. However, the breakfast table was not filled with sleepy questions about training or patrol; it seemed the only topic on anyone’s mind was the little girl we were going to meet later in the day.

“I wonder what her favorite color is? What will her gi color be? I mean, if she’s wearing yellow she’ll look best next to Kai or Lloyd in a lineup, but if she wears, like, purple or teal or something, she’ll look the best standing near me.” (Jay)

“Do you think she’ll fight with a spear? Knives? A GUN?” (Kai, who else?)

“ Ninja don’t even use guns, Kai. I’m wondering what kind of mech she’ll drive. A motorbike? Maybe a jet? How old do you have to be to drive a mech?” (Nya)

“Well, I drove one when I was eight or nine, so maybe she can backseat ride for a few months? I’m just excited to have a new power in the team. Wind-control is so cool when, y’ know, you’re not being possessed.” (Lloyd, a little too cheerfully considering the topic)

Wu cut the chatter with an announcement; just because we were meeting a possible new teammate did not excuse us from training. A collective groan rose from the table, which only increased in volume after five hours of running drills, eyes constantly stealing glances at the ever-approaching form of New Ninjago City. Finally, I felt the Bounty descending to the roof of Ronin’s thrift shop, and the zooming heartbeat of the day before returned. We all took quick showers and changed into clean gis (First impressions are important). One by one, we hopped over the Bounty’s railing and landed on the roof. Ronin’s voice called everyone’s eyes.

“I’m glad to see you made it. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

There. Half-hiding behind Ronin’s legs, draped in lavender lace and clutching a teddy bear, was a little girl. Ronin smiled and tapped her on the shoulder, and she took a step into clear view. I smiled. My picture was staring back at me.


	7. Change of Pace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn meets the Ninja and takes the first step in becoming one herself (Dawn's POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo Boy! I was NOT expecting this one to take this long, but I needed to get all the characters right (I watched the first couple seasons again). Once again, please leave a comment on what you like or don't like!  
> Let's Go Chapter 7!

 

It was beautifully warm up on the roof of Mr. Ronin’s shop, and the white-gold sun filtering through the clouds gave the sky a blindingly bright Cheshire cat smile. The entire world seemed to express nothing but pure joy, a picturesque amalgamation of nature, man, and machine.

Nonetheless, I was  _ bored out of my mind _ . Mr. Ronin tried to keep me entertained with stories and games, but I kept fidgeting, glancing into the sky and trying to spot the amazing flying ship the Ninja supposedly flew in. I felt guilty, fidgeting after he’d gone through so much trouble, getting me into the city and buying me a new dress (he said lavender complimented me), but he said he understood. I smiled gratefully, giving his hand an affirming squeeze and glancing at the sky again, this time spotting a suspiciously ship-shaped blot of darkness in the afternoon sky. I was overjoyed to see it approach, but also anxious. Uncle had told me that the Ninja were good people, honorable and trustworthy. What if I wasn’t up to standard? I thought back to all of the things I had done. 

I had left Kozan without warning or explanation. I had stolen pens and paper, food and water. I had broken into sheds to sleep in for a night. I shuddered with guilt and thanked the stars when Mr. Ronin didn’t notice. The ‘ _ What If’ _ s bounced behind the masking smile I wore, faster and faster as the ship approached.  _ What if they don’t like me? What if I’m not strong enough? What if they decide I’m not worthy to have my power? Can they do that? What if...What if... _ The ship got closer, and my heart sped up. I felt my mask slip, and I was too anxious to put it back on again. Mr. Ronin noticed, and took my hand in his.

“Hey, no worries, kiddo. These folks are good people, and they’re going to love you. But, if they don’t,” he said with a teasing tone, “You just tell me and I’ll come rob them blind, alright?”

I giggled, my anxiety melting away at the thought. I stood a little straighter, albeit  _ behind  _ Mr. Ronin, and smiled easily as the ship came down from the sky. I marveled at the design, the sturdy wood combining smoothly with shiny metal thrusters and the intricate dragon’s head snarling beneath vast off-white sails.  _ Beautiful, _ I thought dreamily,  _ Truly beautiful _ . My train of thought was interrupted by a black-clothed form hurdling the railing. A tall man in a black Ninja gi and cowl landed on the roof in a crouching position-to spare his ankles, very smart- and stood, shuffling away to let his teammates drop down. 

I tried to think back to the stories Mr. Ronin and Miss Skylor had told me about the Ninja. The one in the black: Cole, master of Earth. The svelte blue form that came after him was Jay, Master of Lightning. I ticked off all of the names as they hurdled about and checked amongst themselves. After what seemed like an eternity, Mr. Ronin called their attention. I felt a tap on my shoulder and stepped out from my hiding place. The one in black-Cole- was the first to react. He flipped his hood off, exposing a dark face framed by chin-length black hair and thick brows. He smiled slowly and stepped forward. Instantly my heart started pounding, and I clutched Professor Bean Sprout closer. Cole noticed and moved slower, holding a calloused hand out for a handshake. I took it, and his smile split so that it showed his teeth, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“You must be Dawn. I’m Cole, Master of Earth.” I smiled. From the first five seconds, I could tell so much about him. Kind and stoic, the strongest physically and he knew it (not that he would ever hurt a child, I noted). He shook my hand, and I could glance other faces coming up behind him.

“I’m Dawn. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Cole.” They took turns shaking my hand and introducing themselves, flipping their hoods up one by one. Mr. Jay was fidgety yet encouraging. Mr. Kai, intense and brotherly, definitely used to protecting others (and  _ very _ disappointed that Miss Skylor was too busy with work to come). When the silver-clad Ninja flipped up his hood, I gasped. The color was different- silvery metal instead of pale skin- but the face was the same as the boy in the picture I had saved.

“It’s you!” I said reverently, and a little louder than I had meant to due to the excitement I felt. Confusion crossed Mr. Zane’s face, and I patted his hand in reassurance. “Wait here.” and I ran for the trapdoor. I ducked through and landed in the second-floor hallway in a crouch, ignoring the slight tickle the dust made on my nose. I dashed to the room I was occupying and snagged my gray backpack off of the hook it hung on. The picture was where it always was and I pulled it out, tossing the pack back on the hook as I ducked back out of the room. Within thirty seconds, I was back on the rooftop and staring into seven very confused faces. I turned to Mr. Zane, showing him the picture. Confusion turned into shock, and then awe.

“Where...where did you get this?” His voice was quiet, and lacking in the anger I was afraid I would get. My anxiety cooled a bit, so I felt comfortable explaining. The adults were surprisingly shocked at my explanation, and it was a few moments before I got any sort of answer. Mr. Jay spoke quietly, a small squeak in his voice. Shock, or maybe worry?

“You went through the Birch Forest? Alone?” 

I nodded, replying equally quietly.

“I had to, Mr. Jay. I had to get here quickly.” Over to my left, Mr. Lloyd (the powerful, insecure one with evil in his past but pure good in his heart) stared with recognition, perhaps remembering a journey he himself had taken. He stepped up and took my hand, and I was amazed to find that I didn’t flinch.

“Well, now that we’re all here, I think now is a good time to start training.” He let go of my hand and started walking toward the ship, gesturing for the others to follow. Instantly, icy fear shot through my veins.  _ If I go with the Ninja, will I still be able to talk to Mr. Ronin?  _ I glanced back at him, frozen, and he seemed to understand.

“It’s okay, kiddo. I’ll write, and I’ll see you next time you’re in the city.” The small words proved too much for my little body, and I felt the tears start to flow rivers down my face. Suddenly in control of my movements, I turned and ran, making a few steps before cloth and armor hit my face, my eyes closed. Almost instinctively, he caught me and hugged me tight, his chin on the top of my head.  _ So this is what safety feels like. _ I broke the hug and looked up at him, smiling. Mr. Ronin gave me a pat on the head.

“Go be great, kid.”

The words echoed through my head again and again and did not stop until the wind was whipping at my face and the city-with Mr. Ronin still in it- was a speck below.  _ Alright, Uncle, I’m here. I made it. I’m scared and I don’t know how anything works anymore- but I’m here. _

_ Time to be great.  _


	8. Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zane's POV. The team has finally found Dawn. The next challenge? Getting to know her.

The first week Dawn was staying with us was the longest week of anyone’s life. Everyone was trying to get used to having a child in the group again, and Dawn, in turn, tried to conform to life with the Ninja. The first few days were the worst. As soon as we touched down onto the Floating Temple, Dawn was like a ghost (Wu was not much better- he hadn’t bothered to introduce himself before scuttling off on some excursion. He was still in the city). The familiarity and comfort Dawn showed us back in the city had vanished as soon as Ronin was not with her. She was fidgety, easily scared. She shied away from touches, avoided conversations, and often hid altogether. 

Despite any angry tendencies assumed to counter such behavior  _ (Kai) _ , any possible flicker of frustration that might have sparked was quickly doused by thoughts of dark Mr. Miller and his bottles. Instead, geysers of worry sprung up in the twice-daily mess hall conversations.  _ I haven’t seen her in the mess hall at all, is she eating? Sleeping on the roof can’t be good for her. What if she’s not paying attention and falls off?  _ Of course, there was always the underlying thought of  _ If I ever get my hands on that monster I’ll- _ but these thoughts were kept unspoken, for the child’s sake if nothing else.

After three days of simple proximity without incident, Dawn started warming up to the team. She’d appear in the mess hall at meals if only to wish everyone a good morning. Nonetheless, someone would gently guide her into a seat and I’d place a plate of food in front of her. Whether coerced by hunger or social convention, the child began to pick at her plate, thanking everyone in the room before and after each meal. A small attempt was made to prevent the constant thanks and apologies but to no avail. Pixal made a tally of everything she ate and reminded me to cook more to Dawn’s liking. 

_ Toast, light brown and without the crust, with grape or blackberry jam _

_ Pancakes with butter and syrup (heavier than normal, but not drowning) _

_ Well-done scrambled eggs with salt and pepper.  _

_ Water, apple juice, cranberry juice, milk. _

_ Roasted vegetables, soup, spaghetti. _

Over the next three days, Dawn started eating more, and the entire temple breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she started talking. First, to Lloyd, asking about the Temple. Lloyd, sensing an opportunity, told her some basic information and referenced her to Cole to gain more details. Stories, it seemed, were Dawn’s lifeblood. Cole told her about the Temple and his time as a ghost, and he later remarked that she didn’t move the entire time he was talking. I later noted the same behavior from her in the mess hall. Nya had started telling a story about the old blacksmith shop, and little Dawn seemed frozen for the duration, an enamored expression on her face. A lightbulb seemed to go off in everyone’s collective heads. If no-one had seen Dawn in two hours, someone would walk outside and call for Dawn, offering a story. More often than not, someone would turn to spot a pair of dark eyes staring out from a bush, a rock, a tree. Over time, the little one began to seek us out. Only once or twice a day, but the team was so happy to see her  _ interacting _ that we half-wished she asked more.

“Can I hear a story?” And Kai told a funny tale about blacksmithing, cartoonish yells every time he had burned himself in his youth.

“Can I hear a story?” And Jay spent half an hour in squeaky impressions of skeleton warriors that sent the child into fits of giggles.

“Can I hear a story?” And Lloyd reached for a dusty book on the living room and read to Dawn, wide-eyed at the foot of the armchair in the corner as her mind filled with dragons and spells and powers much like the one that flowed through her veins. It wasn’t long after Lloyd’s stories that Dawn asked about training. The question both brought an atmosphere of joy and awkwardness to the Temple. Everyone was ecstatic that the child was ready to begin training, but there was the question of physical condition.  _ Dawn is eating more, _ the team whispered to each other,  _ but it’s still barely enough. She traveled across the continent, what if she has wounds we don’t know about? What if...what if… what if… _

Finally, it was Pixal who brought the solution to the problem. My metallic angel proposed that a mechanical diagnostic, supervised by herself, would both reduce Dawn’s possible discomfort and be very effective. This idea, proposed at the nightly meeting after Dawn had gone to bed, was an immediate hit with the other Ninja. Pixal’s neural drive ejected from its’ place in my head, and I inserted it into the computer mainframe. Pixal’s face popped up on the screen, and my face split into a smile.

“Alright, love, you sit tight until Dawn comes in. If you need anything-”

“I’m  _ fine, _ Zane. Get some rest, darling. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

 

Pacing. That’s all I was doing, that’s all I had  _ been _ doing since breakfast. Dawn hadn’t been present, and the curtains to the main computer had been closed tight. Everyone had gotten the hint, and were simply sitting and stewing with impatience. Breakfast went practically uneaten, and everyone was lounging about the Temple in varying degrees of anxiety. Jay and Cole played chess in the corner with Lloyd supervising, but no-one was paying attention. Nya was rifling through boxes, looking for clothes that might fit the little one  _ (She can’t wear that one dress forever, guys) _ . Kai, the only actual elder sibling in attendance, was sitting on an ottoman next to the curtained doorway, head on his hands and a focused look in his eyes, though the focus of his gaze remained unclear. I chose to keep moving, pacing back and forth a safe yard from the doorway. Back and forth and back and forth and back again, for minutes or hours, the time was unclear.

“Is something wrong?”

Five pairs of eyes snapped to the curtain where the little one stood, looking concerned. Her lavender dress, I noted, was now full of fades and tears, adding weight to Nya’s efforts.

“Nothing’s wrong, kiddo, we were just waiting for you. Hungry?” Kai spoke slowly, if a bit loudly for casual conversation. Nonetheless, the little one smiled and nodded, taking Kai’s hand as he offered it and following him in the direction of the mess hall. As they walked, I could hear Dawn chattering about her experience, thankfully untraumatized.

“-and Miss Pixal took my heart rate and took some blood, which was a little scary but she sang a song until it was over and I wasn’t scared anymore, and then she taught me the song and it’s really catchy but I’m not very good at it, and I got to stand in front of an  _ x-ray machine! _ So  _ cool! _ We never had an x-ray machine, we just had penicillin sometimes, and then-”

I skirted through the curtains into the room and grabbed Pixal’s neural drive as it ejected, swiftly tucking it back into its place in my head. I felt a  _ click _ as it connected, and the top corner of my vision blurred as the software recalibrated to my headset.

“So, how did it go?” I blinked a few times until Pixal appeared in the corner. Her face was taught, darkened with worry. Icy fear crawled through my systems as thoughts zipped through.

“Pixal, what happened? Dawn seemed in high spirits.”

“Dawn,” Pixal began, her voice shaky, “Dawn doesn’t know cigarette burns aren’t normal.” A file opened, and I nearly fell over from what I saw. 

Cigarette burns on shoulders, on thighs, on feet; red and leaking with infection. Slashes and bruises up and down the back; angry red and blue. Jagged candle-wick cuts on the back of the neck, barely healed.

Horror and anger bubbled through my artificial veins, waves of nausea coming with each picture and every thought that followed. The horrendous images were replaced with a clean white file of statistics, but the extreme worry was still there. Burning red warnings blared in almost every column.

UNDERWEIGHT- INCREASE CALORIC INTAKE

INFECTION ON ABDOMEN/ SHOULDERS/LEGS- TREAT IMMEDIATELY

FRACTURE IN LEFT WRIST- TREAT IMMEDIATELY

TREAT IMMEDIATELY

TREAT IMMEDIATELY

TREAT IMMEDIATELY

I breathed for one, two, ten moments before I found the will to speak. Our minds spilled into each other with treatments and therapies and everything little Dawn would have to go through to get over what she had already gone through. The pictures, we knew, would stand as a digital monument to the wrongs done our littlest team member.  _ Our Dawn,  _ the words echoed again and again, bright and solid in a sea of worry. Pixal and I, and Jay and Cole and Kai and Nya and Lloyd and Skylor and Ronin and everyone else who was on our side, Dawn was our responsibility now.  _ Our Dawn. _

“We need to tell the others.”


	9. Hand Me Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn has gone a little too long without new clothes, and that's not the only thing she's missing. Nya's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Muahahaha! I said this was going to be up in a few days, but instead, it's up TODAY! You've been tricked! :)

I stared at the pile of clothes on my bunk. From my place standing in the corner, I could spot the corner of an old sundress, a hand-me-down sweater, a paint-stained T-shirt; clothes well-loved, and the only ones on hand small enough to fit a seven-year-old girl. My eyes shifted to the clock on the wall; 10:30.  _ She should be here any sec- _

A knock at the door jostled my train of thought. A quick ‘come in’, and the door creaked open just a smidge, just enough to spot dark eyes peeking through the crack. Some folks might’ve been disturbed by a set of almost-black eyes staring out from a crack in the door, but I’d had enough experience in the weeks beforehand to know they meant no harm.

“It’s alright, you can come in.”

Dawn stepped into my room, tentative footsteps masked by the creak of the door. Immediately, the problem I was trying to solve made itself all too apparent. Her lavender dress (apparently her only new clothes within the last three weeks,  _ what the hell _ ) was showing signs of wear after being worn constantly, tears and fades giving urgency to my efforts. Dawn’s eyes wandered from my face to the clothes on my bunk, and a little gasp escaped her. She fidgeted and fixed her hair, nervously patting the bun atop her head.

“Go ahead, pick out something you like.”

The little one stayed where she was, glancing at the clothes like they were a booby-trapped treasure chest. She wanted to look through them but was afraid what would happen if she did.  _ Okay, at least she has  _ some _ interest. I can work with this. _ I stepped up to the pile, sifting through it and looking for colors that would look good on Dawn. I muttered as I went, intentionally keeping my voice low so the kid would have to step closer to hear me clearly. Her curious nature got the better of her and she shuffled closer, peering over my shoulder.

“Here, try these on. It’s kind of basic, but the color will look good.” I passed her a pair of leggings and a calm pink t-shirt, and she took them with a quiet ‘thank you’ and turned toward the back of the room to change. I waited for a heartbeat or twenty before sneaking a peek over my shoulder. The lavender dress was folded neatly on a nearby table, and the little one was just getting ready to pull on the blouse, her back facing me. Thankfully, the scars on her back and shoulders were healing, thanks to twice-daily cups of healing tea. With her hair up in a bun, I could see a little patch of bright green nestled in the dark hair near the base of her neck, an oddity inherited from her uncle Morro. I turned back to the pile of clothes after only a heartbeat, still concerned but at least a tiny bit relieved. I mindlessly shuffled through the clothes, letting my thoughts wander.  _ Oh, _ I thought as my eyes landed on a dull pink skirt,  _ That’s the one Kai got me for my ninth birthday. Oh, and that one, _ my eyes shifted to an age-softened gray dress,  _ Kai got me that one for my first day of fourth grade. Man, Kai really did a lot for me. Even if he was annoying, wasn’t I lucky to have a brother?  _

A tap on my shoulder called my attention, and I turned to find little Dawn in the outfit I had handed her. I was right, the color complimented her nicely. A Cheshire cat smile was plastered across her face, and it proved to be contagious as I felt my own face split into a grin.

“Alright, looking good! Now, what do you want to do?”

Dawn opened her mouth to answer, but a loud thump against the wall interrupted her. Her head and mine swiveled to face the window, beholding a curious but not uncommon scene. Kai holding Jay in a headlock, black and white ninjas sparring in the background. Dawn’s eyes turned back to mine, tilting her head toward the scene outside and smiling brightly, her missing front tooth on full display. I understood her immediately and sprang to open the door. The two of us ran outside, just in time for Jay to take a swing at Kai, miss, and faceplant. Out of the corner of my eye, a tree shook with the barely-contained laughter of a hidden Lloyd, matching the giggles coming from the other ninja.

“Jay-” I started, but was cut off by a little gust of wind to my side. Faster than I could blink, Dawn was at Jay’s side, helping him up.  _ How did she get there so fast? _

“I’m fine, Zip! Really! We were just joking around!” Nonetheless, Dawn checked him over, making sure he wasn’t hurt, and then pushed him over to me. Instinctively, I caught Jay’s hand and held it tight, keeping him from getting away. I had a sneaking suspicion what the kid was going to do, and it was something I really wanted to see. Dawn turned and faced Kai, a little smile adorning her face. My brother’s confused face melted into confidence as he realized that he was being challenged by a seven-year-old. Both combatants leaped into fighting stances, and bolts of anxiety struck the audience. I glanced at the others and found that their faces were much the same as mine.  _ What is she doing? She’s barely had any training! She’s still recovering! If Kai accidentally hurts her I’ll throw him off this island.  _

The Master of Fire moved first, barreling at his opponent with true Kai style. However, when he reached the spot where Dawn was, he discovered that the spot was indeed where Dawn  _ was. _ The little elemental had somehow reached a spot several feet behind Kai, avoiding him altogether. Kai tried again and got the same result, with Dawn suddenly appearing behind him. The little one kicked her leg out and swept her opponent, landing Kai on his back. When she moved around to help Kai up, I recognized what exactly had made her move so fast. She was utilizing her element, harnessing the wind to propel her to speeds no mere human could reach. The others must have come to the same conclusion because all of a sudden little Dawn was in the middle of a ninja circle.

“How did you learn how to do that?” “How long have you been able to?” “What in the world?” “That was incredible!” “How do you feel?” “Did you hurt anything?”

“I’m  _ fine _ ”, Dawn almost shouted over all of the questions. Everyone in the circle took a step back, clearly not used to her being so loud. I, however, understood her predicament. She was clearly running out of patience with being babied and was eager to begin training. I stepped up to the circle and cleared my throat, calling the boys’ attention.

“Well, if she can kick Kai’s butt, I’d say she’s ready to start proper training.” Through the chuckles coming from the boys, I glanced at Dawn’s face. It showed a hundred different feelings; hope and relief and thankfulness and only a touch of the fear that had gripped her for so long. It felt good, helping Dawn to get the training so desperately needed. Lloyd spoke up.

“Alright, alright. First thing tomorrow.”

It was like a switch had been flicked inside of the little girl. At dinner, she cleaned her plate for the first time. The temple seemed to pulse with relief and joy and anticipation, a little heartbeat lulling everyone to sleep. I could almost feel my parents smiling down on me as I laid down in bed, thoughts swirling with training games and little pieces of wisdom I could pass down. 

_ Lesson one; Elemental powers are passed down through families. Never overlook hand-me-downs. _

I smiled, and drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember? This is before season 7, so the Smith parents are still 'missing'.  
> Holy Moley, this is certainly coming along! Next stop? Chapter 10!


	10. Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One month later, and everything has changed. Not only is Dawn safe, but she's also eight. Dawn's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, 10 minutes after posting chapter 9: Alrighty, I'll write just a lil bit and then socially interact.
> 
> Me, a couple of hours and almost 2000 words later: o jeezy loueezy i am in a pickle

_ How strange it is to find myself safe from day to day. It feels like forever ago that I was cowering in some dark corner of the continent, waiting for either the hand of death or saving grace. The latter has come, Uncle, and I am saved. The ones you told me of, the ninja? They are everything I had dreamed of and more. They are powerful, wise, and overwhelmingly human. They have their own thoughts, their own flaws, and I find myself more comfortable than I would be if they were flawless.  _

I paused for a moment, re-reading my letter once more. The words, I noted, had become more eloquent, and harder to spell. After all, I had more than enough materials to rewrite if I ever made a mistake. A single deep breath later, and the pen and paper met again.

_ Tomorrow is the summer solstice, Uncle. The ninja are going on an excursion into the city for the festival, and they’ve decided to take me along! It’ll be my very first midsummer festival, and my heart aches with anticipation. I wish you could see it, Uncle. At least, I hope the Realm of the Departed is nice this time of year. Love as always, Dawn. _

As I finished the curly line under my signature, the dinner bell rang. I flinched at the noise despite myself, adrenaline shooting through my heart at the sound. _I am safe,_ ran through my head over and over as I tried to still my shaking hands. I shifted my letter off to the side of my desk, careful not to smudge the still-drying ink. I turned the desk’s lantern off, then turned myself to head out the door and into the hall. It seemed I would never be used to the Temple, the pristine walls and the clean floors so different than the place I grew up in. The biggest change, however, was the smell emanating from the mess hall. The Temple’s resident cook was an amazing one, whipping up delicacies I couldn’t have dreamed of in my first six or so years of life. Judging from the scent wafting through the air, I guessed that some sort of stew would be on the menu. I took a step into the mess hall, calling a ‘hello’ to everyone inside. I received ‘hello’s back, a behavior I enjoyed thoroughly. _When was the last time_ _Mother_ she _returned my ‘hello’?_ I pushed that thought aside and sat at my usual place at the table, right on the far right corner. _Usual place,_ I relished in the simple phrase. _This is my place, my very own_. 

Mr. Zane placed a delicious-smelling bowl of stew in front of me, confirming my assumption with a smile I easily returned. It only took a moment before everyone was at the table, diving into dinner and holding a cheerful conversation. I, not really one for talking during meals, was content to listen and learn. Most of the talk was of the excursion to the midsummer festival, and the attractions most anticipated by each of the Ninja. Mr. Jay and Miss Nya wanted to attend the technology demonstration. Mr. Kai was eager to try his hand at the blacksmithing competition. Mr. Cole wanted to try his hand at the dumpling eating contest, though why anyone would waste  _ that much _ food was beyond me. Mr. Zane just wanted to walk around, enjoying the sights. Mr. Lloyd (very surprised whenever I called him  _ mister _ as if he thought he didn’t deserve the respect) was eager to play as many games as possible. The conversation, to my dismay, took a sharp turn in my direction.

“So how’s the training going, kiddo?”

My eyes snapped to the red-cloaked asker, and it took a moment to draw up my voice. “Pretty well, I got nearly three-quarters of the way through the course before Mr. Lloyd finished his tea.” I rolled my shoulder, careful to avoid the bruises adorning my back. The newer bruises were welcome, evidence of the training I was finally getting and the mistakes I hoped I was learning from. I got a few words of congratulations before another question hit, the table eager to keep me talking.

“So what do you want to do tomorrow?”

“I don’t exactly know, Mr. Lloyd. I’ve never been to a festival before.” With those few words, the table seemingly exploded with exclamations.  _ Apparently, not going to festivals is a cardinal sin around here. _ Everyone was offering to let me tag along. Everyone, save Mr. Zane, who seemed to be in some sort of computational trance, with the same face he always had when he was searching the internet. I tried to brush off the offers, ‘I’ll just look around’ and phrases of that ilk, but Mr. Zane sent the table into a tizzy again with a few simple words.  _ Of course, he would know, he has my file on standby. _

“Dawn, why did you not tell us that tomorrow is your birthday?” 

I was scared that the shouts would start up again, but instead, I got simple looks, which-honestly- was  _ much worse. _ It took a long moment before I realized they were waiting for an answer.

“Well-” My voice wavered, and I had to try again. “Birthdays weren’t something to celebrate back...back before I met you guys, and I guess I never, never really thought about it.” There was no anger, no accusation or frustration on anyone’s faces, just...pity? “Is that… is that bad?” I tried again, but there was no response for a long time. It was Mr. Jay who spoke first.

“In that case, I think we’ve got to make tomorrow the best birthday ever!”

 

* * *

 

 

I was awoken at the crack of dawn by the sunlight glinting through the window of my room.  _ That’s odd, don’t I always keep my shutters shut?  _ The strangely open window was quickly explained by a cinnamon roll placed on my nightstand, a ‘Happy Birthday’ card placed carefully beside it. I chuckled to myself before stuffing my face and hopping out of bed to get dressed, pulling on a light green tank top and some light gray linen pants, courtesy of Miss Nya. There was no sound coming from the mess hall, so I assumed that everyone would be by the Bounty. As I was walking, a dull *thud* and a string of very Mr. Kai insults gave weight to my assumption, only for them to be totally confirmed once I stepped out into the yard. Mr. Kai gingerly put his foot down, glaring at a heavy bowl rolled some feet away as though it had insulted his grandmother. I stifled a giggle at the thought, drawing the attention of the ever-watchful Mr. Zane.

“Dawn!” He called, drawing the attention of the other ninja to me, “Good morning, and happy birthday!” The second phrase was echoed by everyone else, especially loudly by Mr. Jay. From his reaction to my birthday confession, I assumed he took personal offenses to forgotten birthdays and would try very hard during the festival. This conclusion brought both admiration and a small touch of dread, knowing the absurd lengths Mr. Jay would go to reach a goal. I called back a thank you and boarded the ship, sitting where Miss Nya gestured to by the railing. I swiveled my head to gaze at the gleaming form of New Ninjago City, pulsing with life and gleaming in the desert sun.  _ In only a moment, I will be there. Only a moment, only a moment _ . It was only several moments after that that I felt a sting of guilt. I turned and asked Miss Nya what I could do to help, but I was brushed off. According to Miss Nya, one must not work on their birthday. I smiled and returned to my daydreaming until the firing of engines and a flurry of footsteps signaled liftoff. Closer and closer the city came, and every minute brought a new sensation to be picked up. Music and laughter and the smell of a million different spices blending together into the very quintessence of celebration. I let my heart be lightened, thoughts swimming with wonderful things I had only heard about in stories. Colorful tents hiding acrobats and strange creatures, enormous stuffed animals only won in dreams, fire breathers and fireworks and fired emotions. A hand on my shoulder drew my attention: Mr. Jay, bouncing with excitement. I smiled with him.  _ Smiling always comes easier when someone you trust is smiling too. _ He retracted his hand and went to fidgeting, picking at the scars adorning his hands.  _ Inventor,  _ I remembered,  _ and he lived in a scrapyard for most of his life, of course, he has scars. _

“So, do you have a gameplan for the festival?” My question seemed to startle him, but it took only a moment before the ‘mouth of lightning’ went off.

“Well, my first thought was ‘games’, but then we’d have to carry around a huge plushie everywhere and that’s making for trouble, but we can’t hit the games too late or all the good prizes will be gone, so my thought was; roller-coasters first to beat the sun- you like roller-coasters, right? Oh wait, you’ve never been. They’re really cool, super fast, and I hope you’re not scared of heights- oh wait silly me! Flying boat! Just make sure you sit next to someone you know, and you’ll be fine. Then demos- they’re inside, air-conditioning and all that- then lunch (which is coincidentally right next to the eating contest the rockhead is so crazy about) THEN games before catching a show at the concert venue and hightailing it outta there  _ after _ the sunset fireworks but  _ before _ the moon rises and the weirdos come out. Thoughts?”

“...I think I’ll just stick with you, Mr. Jay” The smile in my voice masked the confusion ( _ what’s a coaster, and why is it rolling?)  _ and Mr. Jay beamed down at me, clearly eager to share the festival with me. His arm went around my shoulders in a protective fashion, and I leaned into him, hugging his waist and kicking my feet energetically with barely-contained excitement bubbling up in my heart. I could feel the eyes of the others before I saw them, smiling at my happiness.  _ Happiness!  _ The city got closer, and I only felt it grow.  _ Only a few hours into my birthday, and I’m already happier than I’ve ever been. How could it get better than this? _

Then, we arrived.


	11. Carnival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day at the carnival, Jay's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LONGEST! CHAPTER! EVER!
> 
> By-the-by, the next chapter will ALSO be Jay's POV. If ya couldn't tell, I'm a Jay fan. Any requests for POVs? Comment below!

The Bounty landed, and I flipped over the railing into an explosion of color and lights and everything that gives me  _ life. _ I turned, catching Nya around the waist as she fell. 

“Well,  _ someone’s  _ feeling romantic today.” 

I chuckled, planting a kiss on her nose before setting her down. She twisted, tucking herself under my arm as the other guys hopped off the ship. Green and black, white and red all joined us on the landing pad. Last of all was little Dawn, who climbed carefully down the ladder. Cole broke the silence as soon as she was down- sudden loud noises and Dawn didn’t mix well.

“Alright guys, Zane and I are gonna head to the center. I’ve got a contest to win!”

“And I have several hundred pictures of birds to take!” And with that, Earth an Ice went tumbling out of sight. Energy and Fire went next, bragging loudly to each other how many tickets and prizes they would win. In only a few moments it was just the two girls and I. I swiveled my head to glance at the little one, who was looking equal parts enthusiastic and overwhelmed. I patted her shoulder encouragingly and steered our little band to the outskirts of the festival, leaving the music and electronic pings for the groans and roars of rollercoasters. It was still early, and most folks were arriving at the center of the festival, so the lines were  _ crazy  _ short. Within a few moments, we were in line for a good-size coaster. The kid seemed to forget her nervousness and instead busied us with an endless string of questions about coasters and their inner workings.  _ Holy Moly, if this is how she talks when she’s excited we’re gonna have two motormouths on deck!  _ In minutes we were at the front of the line, and Dawn finally realized what exactly we had been doing.

“Wait, we’re gonna go  _ on that thing? _ Up  _ there?  _ In  _ that?” _ She gestured shakily between the steel track high above and the three-person cart,  _ The Comet  _ painted on the side in screaming red.

“It’s okay, Dee. They test these things for safety, it’s perfectly safe.” I knocked on the side of the sturdy metal cart to prove my point. “Here, you can even be in the center seat. Safest spot on the coaster,” I gestured toward the snug red seat in the middle of the cart. The little one hesitated, and Nya took the opportunity to sidle into the farthest seat. She patted the seat next to her invitingly.

“Come on, Dee, it’ll be fun!”

Dawn only hesitated for a moment more before climbing into the seat and allowing Nya and I to help her with her seatbelt ( _ I’ve never needed one before, Mr. Jay _ ). When the man on duty came to pull down the pull-bar I could almost see the little one’s heart skip a beat and she grabbed my hand, grip relaxing just a smidge after a reassuring squeeze. Half a heartbeat later, we were off. 

Tick-tick, tick-tick, tick-tick and all of a sudden we were at the top and the hill suddenly looked  _ much _ steeper than it did a few moments prior. I could only steal a glance at my equally terrified ride-mates before the coaster gave a lurch and I found myself falling and then I wasn’t anymore as the cart hit the bottom of the hill and the  _ real _ fun began. My stomach did somersaults as the cart vaulted over half a mile of twisting steel track. My screams of terror blended with the girls’, and to my absolute delight, I heard the pitch twist into joy instead of fear. The wind seemed to tear through me, hungry teeth ripping at my hair and clothes and whatever else the invisible maw could reach. I glanced over at the rider in the middle seat, ebony hair tossing wildly and dark eyes glinting with the magic only a child could know.  _ A child...or an elemental.  _ The ride came to a stop before the notion could be fully explored, and the three of us clambered out as fast as our wobbly ‘post-coaster’ legs could carry us

“So,” I turned to Dawn as we followed Nya out to the ‘exit ride’ sign, a list of everything that could have gone wrong running through my head. “What did you think of your first roller coaster?”

It didn’t even take a heartbeat before Dawn was absolutely  _ squealing _ about the experience, the sights and the sounds and the feel and the  _ wind _ , and how it was  _ top priority _ to go on as  _ many as possible _ . My face broke into a grin, and together we ran for the next coaster.

* * *

 

Between the shots of adrenaline received with each ride, the tick of time had gone unnoticed by our little group. It was only after receiving a text did I look at my phone and realize it was lunchtime. I looked up, quickly spotting my sweetheart under a tree, showing water tricks to a thoroughly out-coastered Dawn sitting against the tree. I wove through the crowd, calling their names with every couple of steps until I got their attention. 

“The gang is calling for a meetup at Skylor’s booth. Thoughts?”

I thought Dawn’s face was going to split in two with the smile that emerged.  _ Of course, she met Skylor before she even met us. _ Nya helped her up, and we went on our way weaving through the much-increased crowd, Dawn holding onto my arm. With a pang of regret, I realized we had missed the technology demonstration, and voiced this complaint to Nya. 

She waved me off, “Those demos will be on the internet before day’s end, and we got to ride  _ all  _ of the roller coasters. Fair trade.” 

I nodded with a smile and planted a kiss on her cheek, then surged forward with the girls in tow. It took only a few minutes before the entire team was ordering at the noodle booth, chatting about our experiences as Skylor fixed the orders. Zane had taken four hundred and sixty-two pictures of birds. Cole ( _ how _ he was still hungry was beyond me) had eaten 387 dumplings in 10 minutes and had won gold. Lloyd and Kai had won over 1500 tickets at the arcade. All four of them were strutting around like peacocks, showing off their prizes.  _ Can I really blame them, though? If I do something cool, I can’t  _ stop  _ bragging. Jeez, I gotta work on tha- _ My train of thought was interrupted by a shriek. My heart skipped a beat when I looked down and saw it was Dawn who was screaming, but I quickly realized it was a ‘good’ kind of scream when I saw a familiar red straw hat pushing towards us. A scruffy face broke through the crowd, and I felt Dawn’s hand slip away.

“Mr. Ronin!” Dawn practically threw herself at him, and he caught her not a moment too soon. It took a heartbeat to figure out who he was holding, but his scarred face broke into an almost painfully wide grin when the realization hit.

“Kid!” He hugged her tightly and picked her up, a move the guys and I were still unsure of with Dawn.  _ Two days and they’re already  _ that  _ close?  _  Dawn shifted so she was facing us, held aloft in one of Ronin’s arms. The two smiles could have outshone the sun itself.

“So, are y’all havin’ a good time? Gonna win the kid some prizes?”

“Of course,” Cole spoke up, strolling towards them and punching the kid affectionately on the shoulder, “You’ve got to get prizes on your birthday!”

“Holy Moly, it’s your  _ birthday? _ ” Ronin looked to Dawn, who nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me, kid?” He jostled her around, sending her into a fit of giggles. “We’ve gotta get you some real nice prizes after lunch. Skylor! One original bowl for me, and a cookie for the kid!”

We spent the hottest hours of the day under the shade of a cluster of umbrellas, sipping lemonade and slurping noodles in between jokes and stories. Skylor delegated booth control to an employee and joined us in the shade, rapidly switching between fawning over Dawn and aggressively flirting with Kai. Nya tucked herself under my arm and we watched for shapes in the clouds, heartbeats matching and hearts content. When lunch was a memory and the sun started its downward journey, the group stood as a whole and shuffled over to the arcade, absent-mindedly tossing away any rubbish we had made. Once inside the game area, the nine soon broke into three even groups, heading in different directions to cover the most ground. I found myself with Nya and Zane, the three of us attacking the speed-centric games with ferocity to rival Kai’s fiery temper.  _ Who’d’ve known that Zane was so good at Whack-A-Mole? _ Though our quest for tickets, I could spot Dawn jumping from machine to machine, Cole and Ronin taking turns handing her tokens and giving advice from the sidelines. She seemed especially fixated on Skee-ball, and I heard the ‘jackpot’ alarm go off at least eleven times over during the time she was there, her overseers cheering wildly each time. Being a band of heroes, a career criminal, and the owner of a fast food chain, the group had quarters and skill to spare. By the time the group reconvened at the ticket counter, I could barely see anyone through the mess of tickets we had collected.

“So, Dawn, what do you want to get?” Lloyd asked, plopping the fifth armful of tickets in front of the carnival worker, who looked about three seconds from crying as she popped line after line of tickets into the electronic counter. The kid seemed confused, and I had to remind myself that she had never been to an arcade before. I stepped up, calling her attention.

“See all the prizes up there, Dee-da-lee? If we have enough tickets, you can get it, and some of the prizes cost different amounts of tickets.” I gestured to the small red bowl on the counter, a large ‘1’ taped to the front. “See, those candies only cost one ticket each, but that stuffed monkey over there costs two hundred. Get it?” To my relief, Dawn nodded, turning her attention to the board of prizes. It took several minutes for the final ticket total to be reached; together we had raised exactly five thousand three hundred and forty-two tickets. It took some math (courtesy of the living calculators Zane and Pixal), but finally, everyone strolled out of the arcade in high spirits, pockets bulging with low-ticket candies and a handful of cheap plastic trinkets each. Dawn seemed made of pure sunshine, buried beneath an enormous 5000 ticket dragon plush and riding in a rented red wagon, giggling as she was pulled deeper into the center of the festival, to the city park.  _ Thankfully, you get really good spots if your teammates' dad is headlining.  _ There was a special place on the green reserved for ‘Cole and his friends’, just large enough for about ten people.  _ Or,  _ I remarked funnily to myself,  _ just large enough for nine and a wagon. _ We settled down, most taking a position propped up on the wagon- Zane, being a nindroid, simply stood and locked his leg joints. From my place at the wagon’s side, I could hear Dawn’s murmured questions from beneath the dragon plush. What the stage was for and then who would be performing, all questions the group took turns answering. First myself, then Nya, then Ronin, then Cole and Kai and Lloyd until the questions ran out and the show began. Music snaked into the air from hidden speakers, the melody so soothing Dawn forgot to flinch at the sudden noise. The classical piece proved to be only an attention-grabber as a man in a loud silver suit appeared on stage, the soothing music all at once replaced by blaring rock.

“Hellooooo Ninjago!” A familiar nasally voice boomed out of the speakers, and everyone in the group (except Dawn) let out a collective groan. Darreth did what he did best, working the crowd into a frenzy and thoroughly embarrassing himself before introducing the Royal Blacksmiths, dressed to the nines as usual. I heard a gasp come from the wagon and turned my head, catching Nya’s eye as we both watched Dawn’s enamored expression, clearly not used to the heavenly melodies the Blacksmiths were dishing out. I reached behind the little one, grabbing Nya’s hand and returning my attention to the stage.  _ Soon, the fireworks start.  _ I whispered to the wagon, barely audible above the speakers.

“Happy birthday, Dawn.”


	12. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trauma has a way of sneaking up on us, doesn't it? Jay's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I'd pull a few late hours and get this out before my wisdom teeth removal. 
> 
> Woop Woop! Feels alert! Trauma time, baby!

_ “I never wanted to be in your ‘boys club’ anyway…” _

_ Through the smile in her voice, I can see her pain, the venom coursing through her veins attacking every tissue and causing the muscles to spasm. I can feel it through her thin white dress, the heartbeat getting fainter. I can feel the love of my life slipping away as every damnable second ticks by.  _

_ “No, Nya,” I can’t even bring myself to end the sentence, my racing mind brought to an abject halt. Every thought, every cell in my body and piece of my soul locked onto the moment. “don’t say that…” I feel a sob building in my throat, fear and grief grinding through my veins as tears carve canyons down my face. _

_ “Guess it’s true..” My soulmate, my Nya sounds like she’s trying to speak through a curtain of water, getting softer and softer and my mind recoils in pain when my imagination tries to slip into what will happen next. “, the greatest love stories do end in tragedy..” There is no malice in her voice, she doesn’t blame me  _ but she should it’s my fault, my fault, my fault  _ and then she’s  _ gone  _ and there’s  _ nothing to be done.  _ The final wish never comes. Instead, I find myself reliving every awful experience of my life, every broken arm and every disappointed look that somehow hurt  _ more. _ I feel my limbs glow with forgotten pains, ghost injuries searing with every scene I pass through. For a moment, I wonder if I’m being tortured by a mind reader. Then the moment passes and I’m flung back and NYA IS DEAD- _

I bolted upright in bed, head spinning and heart pounding.  _ No, _ I reminded myself,  _ Nya is not dead. Not. Dead. We watched fireworks and said goodbye to Ronin and Skylor, and then we went home. _ The facts didn’t make me feel better. My head spun, my heart pounded, and the shaking of my hands could only be measured on the Richter scale.  _ Take a walk, Jay. _ I swung my legs over the side of the bed, one after the other. Any faster, I knew, and I risked collapsing.  _ Slowly, slowly,  _ I reminded myself again and again as I eased myself up onto my feet, the cold floor creaking with my weight. Breathing deeply, I headed out of my room, keeping a hand on the wall just in case. Instinctively, I shuffled two doors down and cracked open the door on the right side of the hallway. A figure was laid on the bed, dark hair turned almost silver by the moonbeams streaming through the window. I held back the sigh of relief that had sprung to my throat, even though I had known she would be there. Nya, my Nya, my love, was safe. Safe and happy and probably dreaming about kicking a skeleton’s-

A small noise outside caught my attention, and all thoughts immediately channeled to threat assessment protocol. Another few shuffles brought me to the end of the hall, and the window adorning the wall. A hitched breath was released when the noises continued and I realized exactly what the noise was. Little Dawn was humming at the edge of the island, criss-cross applesauce. As I watched, she edged closer to the brink and let her legs dangle off the floating island. She leaned into the desert wind, and I felt my heart stop. Before I could think, I hurtled out of the window, finding myself on the ground with Dawn only a few yards ahead. Instead of barreling ahead and scooping her up, my eyes darted around the green-and-tan form and realized she was meditating, her shoulders relaxed and her head swaying slightly with the breeze. Heart still pounding, I straightened up, catching a glimpse over Dawn’s shoulder. In it, swirling and perfectly contained, was a neat little cyclone. It was almost hypnotizing in its’ perfection, whirling with the speed of a full-scale tornado but without the fury a storm usually came with. I found myself moving forward, rolling my steps to avoid any noise. Nonetheless, ever-watchful Dawn sensed me.

“Hello, Mr. Jay,” The miniature cyclone dissipated in her hand, slowing to a gentle breeze quickly lost to the desert air. “, did you have a nightmare?” Dark eyes locked on mine, a comforting smile on her face. 

“What?” I heard myself ask, mind still slowed by sleep. I chuckled, nervous (though the reason  _ why  _ was unclear) “Why-why do you ask?”

She turned back to the ledge, patting the patch of grass next to her. I took the hint and a seat, letting my legs dangle off the island.

“Because,” she spoke as I settled down, “this is what I always do when I have one. I come out here and practice, and I talk to the wind.” She swiveled her head, catching my gaze. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Before I could think, before any millions of warnings could go off in my head, I started talking. Words poured out of me like a fountain, unstoppable once the flow began. I started at the beginning, through each wish and the consequences. My father- _ biological _ father, the island, my capture, the tiger widow. As my confession progressed, I could feel myself tightening with a hundred different emotions. My arms seemed to creak with the hours of labor. I felt heat building up in my torso, anger and regret building even with the  _ memory _ of what happened. After what seemed like hours, I finally got to the scene from my nightmare. The words came slower, forcing themselves out through an almost-closed throat.

“And...and then I wished that no-one had found the teapot in the first place and everything went back to normal, and I know it didn’t  _ really  _ happen because of the wish and it’s so  _ stupid  _ that I still think about it but I can’t  _ help it _ and-”

A hand grabbing mine broke my concentration, and another cupped my face. Onyx eyes bored into mine, starlit and focused.

“Jay Walker,” the tone Dawn used was jarring, far more intense than I had ever heard her use. I thought back to the child giggling in a wagon during the fireworks, only a daydream compared to the girl before me, all cold iron and hard truth. “ You did the  _ right thing,  _ Jay. Without your final wish, Nya would be  _ dead _ , and nobody knows how many awful things could’ve happened. Nobody knows because they  _ didn’t happen _ . You  _ saved the future,  _ Jay, and you’re a hero for it.”

My voice caught in my throat, every instinct screaming for me to speak but every argument dying on the tip of my tongue, withering before a stare dark as night. I forced myself to relax, dropping my shoulders and unfurrowing my brow.  _ Breathe,  _ I told myself.  _ In and out, in and out. _

“Alright,” I said, shaky yet strangely comforted, “alright.” The iron child softened, her grip on my hand loosening and her other hand slipping from my face. The intense look in her eyes was still there, but the grim expression had been replaced by a reassuring smile. “You know, for a kid, you have a lot of wisdom.” Her smile widened as I poked her in the belly, splitting to reveal her gap tooth. “Maybe one day you’ll be a Sensei!”

“Not likely, Mr. Jay,” she giggled, the tension at the moment snapped, “I can barely get through the obstacle course!”

We talked for a while, careful to keep the conversation light. It wasn’t long before the conversation evolved into sharing stories. I recalled a funny fail from my time training at the Monastery, then she recited a poem from one of the old books in the library and back and forth and back and forth. During my telling of ‘Cole’s Awful Cooking and the Lengths Taken To Hide It’, I realized something. I waited until Dawn finished giggling, and I spoke quickly, careful to get my question out before she could start her next story. 

“Dawn, you said you come out here when you have nightmares.”

She stopped, withdrawing her hands and placing them in her lap. The eyes left mine and turned back to the desert, a curtain of dark hair falling from behind her ear and masking her face. It was one, two, ten moments before a shaky breath broke the silence. 

“I…” The word died as it left her mouth. She tried again, “I…” but to no avail. 

I placed a hand on her back, jostling her train of thought. “Hey, it’s okay. I know it must have been hard back in Kozan. You’re safe now.”

It was her turn to talk, and talk she did. Slowly at first, the words sputtered like a shorted engine. Times of happiness in a dark town, where a father mined and a mother cared and a tiny girl took her first steps pushing a mine-cart. The words proved too strong for sputters, and they poured out of the little one like poisoned water: a cave-in and an injury awakening buried tendencies, the first and second and tenth and hundredth times bruises cropped up on skin too young to understand why, the little candies; rewards for not telling the neighbors.

“Butterscotch, always butterscotch,”  _ she sounds like she’s going to be sick _ , “Even the smell of it...I can’t stand it, can’t  _ stand it…”  _ Her voice was strangled as she recounted her journey across the continent, words and tears squeezing themselves out of a sorrow-ridden body. I patted her shoulders, running my hand along where the scars had been most prominent, mostly healed by time and medicinal tea.  _ The poor dear’s got scars on her heart. _ She took a deep breath, her words all used up. She was suddenly too small and way older all at once, her eyes red and puffy and half-lidded with sleep.  _ Sleep,  _ I realized in the nick of time as the little form slumped against me, too emotionally drained to stay awake. I adjusted myself so I could stand up and shuffle the green-and-tan form into my arms in a princess carry.  _ She’s so light. _ It only took a moment before I was laying the little one down on her bed, careful to tuck the blankets just so. As I went to leave the room, I heard a small voice, weak with overuse.

“Thank you, Mr. Jay.”

I smiled over my shoulder at the little form in the bed, facing the wall.

“Thank you, Dawn.”

I closed the door behind me and turned toward my room with eyelids drooping, the lure of sleep coming over me in waves.  _ Sweet dreams,  _ was all I could think as I drifted off.  _ Sweet dreams, Nya. Sweet dreams, Dawn. Sweet Dreams. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to request a POV for a chapter? Comment, please!


	13. The Ball Begins to Roll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wu arrives, bearing news that Dawn has been waiting for. The problem? She can't stand the guy. Dawn's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The characters are developing and the stage is set! Commence Operation: Actual Plot!

_Dear Uncle,_

_Everything is going well. I’ve been practicing, just like you said I should, and I can feel myself improving. I almost made it through the entire obstacle course today, which Mr. Kai says is really impressive- he’s more than twice my age, and it took him just as long._

I paused, fiddling the pen between my fingers. I had actually thought that I was going to get through the entire obstacle course, though I suspected Mr. Lloyd skipped using sugar so I would fail, though I kept that thought to myself. Most likely, he was trying to have me prepared as possible before I went on my first mission. At least, I tried to tell myself that.

_I’ve started doing tricks, little things so I can practice even outside the dojo. Sliding things across a table, little hand-held cyclones, flying kites without string. Little things._

The sentences read choppy, voiceless; I was holding back. The subject I wanted to write about bounced around my head, it was hard to write when such a burning question was sitting in my heart. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and ignored the drooping of my eyelids; sleep could wait for a letter.

_The Ninja’s Sensei showed up today, the old one-Wu. You told me about him once, but only broad strokes. Your old sensei, old and wise and skilled. Well- two out of three isn’t a bad score, Uncle._

I remembered when he first showed up, walking through the courtyard like he owned the place- he probably did, but the way he carried himself irked me for some reason. It had been training time, and I had been behind a sparring dummy. I remembered the exact way Wu had reacted when he saw me for the first time.

“I realize,” he had said, drinking in the adoring stares from the ninja- like a celebrity at a press conference, “that I haven’t been properly introduced to our newest member, where’s…”

At that moment, I had stepped out from behind the dummy. It was like he’d stepped on an electrified cart rail, the way he’d stopped and stared. _Like he had seen a ghost._

I looked over at the photos I kept on my desk. A group shot, taken by fading sunlight in the dying hours of my eighth birthday, took up the most space. A sketch of myself, a gift from Mr. Cole- not entirely accurate, but the thought of receiving a gift made in _anticipation_ of a meeting? The thought was so wonderfully kindhearted that it made up more than the difference. A copy of the picture from the tree bunker- Mr. Zane was kind enough to let me have a copy, though he obviously kept the original. 

The fourth and final picture always brought a flurry of thoughts I could never quite align. Mr. Lloyd had found it in an old box and given it to me- the reasoning had become obvious at a first glance, and it was one of my most coveted possessions. A little boy sitting on a comfy-looking stool in front of a white wall, like a photo for a newspaper. Straight, chin-length black hair framed dark eyes that seemed to become deeper the longer you looked at them. Golden tan hands sat quietly in his lap, the only skin besides his face not hidden by the too-big robes he wore, forest green offset by a white undershirt. Though he smiled, it was awkward, like he was still new to getting his picture taken. I smiled down at him and wondered if our smiles looked as similar as the rest of us did.

_Like looking into the past,_ that’s what the old man had whispered to Mr. Lloyd when he’d thought I was out of earshot. I turned back to my letter, stealing glances at the picture every few moments. _Like looking into a mirror,_ I thought with a chuckle as I picked up my pen.

_I don’t know if I’m right, Uncle, and I don’t know if it’s my place to judge, but Wu is one of the least wise people I’ve ever met. He assumes his own importance and skill, an overestimation of which can turn as deadly as any disease in half a heartbeat. He keeps secrets, Uncle, he has and he does and he will until the day it kills him. The Golden Weapons and the Great Devourer and even you, secrets in a game where only he knows all the rules. He probably would’ve just let Mr. Lloyd rot in that evil school if he didn’t pose as a threat-_

The end of the pen broke with a sickeningly wet sort of _crack_ , the ink running down the page in pitch black rivulets. Thankfully, the words were spared. I pushed back against the desk, letting my chair slide back. The mess only affected my desk and would be easy to clean provided certain tools that were certainly under the kitchen sink just down the hall. I slipped out of my room, flicking off the light as I passed into the dark corridor. A little breeze whistled through the hall, and I harnessed it, sensing as it passed over furniture and anything left on the floor. With the use of my favorite little trick, I passed easily down the hall, the desert breeze muffling my footsteps. I rounded the corner, and my breath hitched in my throat. Someone was in the kitchen, a dim vanilla light- lamplight- bathed the wall opposite the doorway. Little noises struck the still night air, clinks and shuffles and the occasional clearing of a throat. A wheezing sort of a cough- Wu. My teeth set themselves together in a silent snarl, preparing for a thoroughly awkward situation when a voice breaks the silence. High and young but definitely male- Mr. Lloyd. 

“I just don’t know, Master Wu. I mean, I was nine when I first went on missions. Shouldn’t she sit this one out?”

A bolt of adrenaline shoots through me, and I flatten myself against the wall, trying to ground my suddenly too-light body. _She._ _Me. They’re talking about me._ I tried to calm down, fighting back the instincts built from six years hiding and cowering. _You’re safe, they’re not going to hurt you. It’s Mr. Lloyd, the insecure one with evil in his past and pure good in his heart._

_He takes his pancakes with half a bottle of syrup._

_He has a stash of chocolates hidden in the dojo for rewards during training._

_He does funny voices and sound effects while reading fables._

_He still has nightmares about Darkly’s._

_He hides in the closet when it’s his turn to do dishes._

_It’s Mr. Lloyd, you’re safe._

_You’re safe._

My shoulders relaxed as I ran through my list, and my head cleared enough to catch what Wu responded with. Thankfully, the old man spoke slowly.

“Lloyd,” the casualness in the address was infuriating. The Green Ninja deserved a ‘Mr’ at least and a ‘Master’ at most, especially all that he had been through. Especially from his teacher. “This matter is hardly the end of the universe, much less Ninjago. I am sure even the little one can handle it.”

_‘Even’ me?_ I resisted the urge to grind my teeth in anger, feeling the familiar heat begin to glow inside my chest. _He won’t even use my proper name. Mr. Lloyd at least has the decency to cite_ why _he thinks I should stay back from-_

The mission. A _mission!_ My heart leaped at the possibility, the hot anger evaporating at the word. All of the people in the stories- fictional and non- always have a very first mission, no matter how small. Even if it was collecting trash on a beach, a mission was a mission. _I’ve got to go. Even if_ he’s _going, I’ve got to go._

“Yeah, I guess you’re right...besides, I don’t think I could stop her if I tried. She’d just sneak aboard and pop up when we got ourselves into trouble, maybe get herself kidnapped.”

They chuckled together, sharing a memory. The sounds of scooting chairs and clinking mugs sounded out, and I was suddenly aware of how creepy it would be if they knew I had heard their conversation. I backed away from the door, then turned and ran for my room, rolling my steps to muffle the sound, the mess on my desk forgotten in place of the matter at hand. I made it to my bed and threw the covers over myself, grabbing in the dark for Professor Bean Sprout. My hands hit soft fabric, and I pulled him close just in time. I heard my door creak open, the same dim lamplight from the kitchen shining onto the wall in front of me. 

“You’re asleep, good...you’re gonna need your strength.” _He sounds like he’s going to cry._ “I..I just really hope this goes well. I know firsthand how bad this job can get, and the first mission can really set a precedent.” He chuckled, a sad sort of half-laugh that made me want to sit up and give him a hug. “Hopefully, ridding a village of a gang will be a lot more fun than getting kidnapped by snake-people.” 

_Aha, so_ that’s _what the mission is. Truthfully, I’m disappointed it’s not mystical, but still! A mission!_ A million different scenarios began to swim through my head, and I felt myself being pulled into the realm of sleep. Faintly, Mr. Lloyd’s singing could be heard as I drifted off. Sweet and high and soft as a sigh, like a fairy’s wings. A song from the past.

The past...the pros and cons lit up like little stars. Songs and secrets, books and betrayals, heartaches and hand-me-downs. Positives and negatives crashed into each other like waves, and I let them wash each other away. _Learn from the past,_ _and look to the future._ I repeated the thought a few more times. It felt good, it felt _right_.

_I wonder..._ but sleep was fast approaching, and the wonders can always wait for morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y'all couldn't tell, I don't like Wu much. I deleted Misako from the tags because a) I can't deal with her crap and b) I really need to get this plot rolling and I only have time for bashing one crappy parent figure. 
> 
> Have a suggestion/question/opinion? Comment below!


	14. Cabin Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the way to stop a gang of criminals, it becomes apparent that not everyone is happy in tight quarters. Cole's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *banging pots and pans* THIS! TOOK! WAY TOO LONG! TO WRITE! BUT I! HAVE! DRIVER'S ED! SORRY!
> 
> If y'all have a question/comment/suggestion, feel free to comment! I read all of them, and love feedback!

Three weeks.  _ Three weeks _ . That’s how long Zane had said the trip would take. Three weeks coast to coast, to liberate some village from a gang. Why gangs still thought it was a good idea to form when there were  _ literal superpowered ninjas protecting the country _ was beyond me, but at least  _ something _ good would come out of the situation; the kid would be able to complete a mission without the fate of the world resting on it. We had packed up in a hurry, eager to get the trip over with and already used to living on the Bounty. Even Dawn hadn’t taken more than an hour to pack; she had stuffed three sets of clothes, her teddy bear, a few books, and the photos on her desk into a duffel and called it a day. I had smiled at her as she shuffled to the Bounty, my face splitting into a grin as Jay struggled to fit all of his ‘necessities’ into a single bag. The trip had started smoothly, five days of relaxed training and enjoying the view from up on the deck. 

_ Smoothly,  _ I thought sarcastically to myself as another shouting match broke out over breakfast. Jay had misplaced Kai’s hair gel, or used his toothbrush, or tinkered with his videogames or  _ something _ that apparently warranted screaming at each other across the table.

“We had a deal! I stay out of your stuff, you stay out of mine!”

“We  _ also _ had a deal to label anything that wasn’t shareable! NO LABEL, KAI!”

I sighed and took another bite of my cornflakes, letting my eyes drop to half-open as they began to wander.  _ Jay, still in his pajamas and halfway through his second bowl of diabetes-in-a-bowl cereal™. Kai, screaming over an untouched waffle. Lloyd, trying to mediate and keep his eggs safe at the same time. Nya, ignoring the bout and sipping a smoothie behind a tinkerer’s magazine. Three empty seats- _

My mind snapped back to reality, realizing who exactly was missing from the table. Zane was accounted for, I could hear him talking aloud to Pixal as he washed dishes. That left only Wu and Dawn unaccounted for; never a good combination. Wu was trying to teach Dawn Spinjitzu in the same way he had taught us. Unfortunately, Dawn was avoiding him at all costs. I slipped out of the mess hall, thankfully unnoticed due to the shouting.  _ Jeez, how long can Kai go on? We’ve gotta start timing him or something. _

I blinked as the sun and wind hit my face, the deck creaking comfortably under my feet. I spotted the problem immediately. Sensei Wu, looking confused, was wandering about the upper deck. Dawn was nowhere in sight, which I assumed was the problem.

“Ah! Cole!” Wu said, noticing me. He tapped toward me, staff in hand, and leaned forward like he had a secret to share. “I require some assistance in locating young Dawn.”

“Alright, Sensei.” I nodded and headed toward the bow as Wu went to search the stern. I ticked off the places I had found Dawn before; tangled in a pile of rope during hide-and-seek, nestled in the crow’s nest during an anxiety attack, tucked under the dragon’s head when it was her turn to sweep the deck.  _ No dice. _ It was only when I heard a familiar squeak of alarm that I realized Dawn had been found. My head whipped around to spot a black-and-tan blur streak out from behind a crate. I glanced to Wu, staff forgotten and hands up like he was calming a wild animal.  He stepped toward Dawn cautiously, no doubt noting that she was-

_ She’s right up to the railing! _

My heart hammered in my chest, familiar anxiety crawling through my veins like liquid ice.

“Dawn, be rational. I’m only trying to-” 

“No.” Dawn’s voice carried a tone I had never heard her use before.  _ She’s been tired, yes. Bored, sure. Even frustrated. Never angry. _ She spun to face Sensei Wu, keeping both hands on the railing. The wind blew hard around her, but her black training gi remained unruffled. Even her hair, ponytailed and pitch black, was protected from the gale by her personal force-field. I could see the hatred in her eyes, though the reason why remained unknown.

“No!” She repeated, a twinge of fear mixing with the hatred as Wu took another step forward. “Get away from me!” Out of the corner of my eye, I could spot a multitude of colors and worried expressions. The shouts had clearly drawn the attention of the others, overriding the appeal of a shouting match with protective instincts. Dawn noticed them, too.

“Mr.Zane!” The nindroid immediately focused all of his attention on the small figure at the railing at the call of his name, curling up in tone as panic set into her voice. “How high up are we?” 

“Approximately 10,560 feet-” Zane answered automatically, his voice catching with realization. My eyes snapped to Dawn, her face set in determination. As we watched, Dawn-  _ our  _ Dawn, the smallest, sweetest kid I had ever met- twisted around, hoisted herself up-

-and hurdled over the railing of a ship two miles in the air. 

All of a sudden I was unfrozen and following her to the edge, sparing only a glance at my panicking teammates before launching myself off of the ship. The wind grew harsh and hungry, tearing at me and ripping tears from my stinging eyes. Through the watering, I could see Dawn, just a little black-and-tan blot below me. I straightened out, streamlining myself to drop faster until I was right next to her.  _ Alrighty, now grab the little psycho and break the fall! _

Dawn’s eyes locked with mine, and her mouth- drawn up in a little smirk- quickly fell into panic and worry. Her eyes darted around me, searching for something, mouth pressed tightly closed. Before I could grab her hand, she grabbed mine. Surprised, I tried to speak, to ask  _ why _ , but my voice was lost to the wind. Wind, I realized, that was concentrating and swirling faster and faster below us. As I watched, Dawn’s eyes squeezed shut as the cyclone carried us down. The whole drop took less than a minute.

As soon as Dawn’s feet-  _ wait, she’s barefoot?- _ touched the ground, she took off. It was shocking the way that she ran- as if her life depended on it. Without a thought, I took off after her.

“Dawn!” The forest was dense, and my stupid shoulders kept getting in the way. “Wait!” The little black-and-tan blur disappeared into thin air in front of me, and fear gripped my heart. A couple more stumbles, and I found myself on the edge of a clearing. My head whipped about, scanning the clearing. My heart sunk deeper the longer I searched. “Dawn!” I tried again, panic creeping into my voice. A hiccuping sob caught my attention, drawing my eyes to an old tree on the very edge of the clearing. Up in the branches, clutching the trunk like it was her lifeline, was the far too small black-and-tan form of the littlest ninja. Tears of relief pricked at the edges of my eyes, and I stepped up to the trunk of the tree. I kept my voice low, using the same soft tone I had heard Ronin use whenever he spoke to her.  _ Calm and stable. No sudden movements. _

“Hey, Zip. What’re you doin’ up there?” 

She tried to answer, but nothing came out but hiccoughs and tears. I tried again,

 “How ‘bout you come down, and we can talk.” 

No answer came from above, but I heard a scrape of cloth against the bark, and saw one of her hands loosen from the trunk to settle by her side. I took the movement as a sign of acceptance- however begrudging- and leaned against the trunk. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I instinctively answered it.

“COLE-” Jay’s frantic voice screeched in my ear, and I cleared my throat to cut him off.

“We’re fine, just having a chat.” I hung up without any more words.  _ Sorry, Jay, but I can’t mess this up. _ I pocketed my phone casually and looked out into the clearing. The forest was truly beautiful, with a million different shades of green broken here and there with flowers; lacy orange rose-mallows with delicate petals, bright lilies in a rainbow of loud colors, clutches of pinkish-red roses nestled between thorns. An idea popped into my head, an excited smile sliding onto my face as it formed. I took control of my face, forcing it into a polite smile, and glanced up into the branches.

“You know, there’s a lot of pretty flowers ‘round here. Perfect for flower crowns.” I paused for a moment, letting the words sink in. “Maybe- hear me out, here- we could make flower crowns, and maybe talk a bit about what’s bothering you, mkay?

There was a pause, then, in a tiny voice;

“Mkay.”

I smiled, turning to face the tree as Dawn scooted down. About halfway down, she slipped, falling backward. I put out my arms and she fell into them, looking about as surprised as I felt. She looked at me, eyes wide and hair wild, before bursting into laughter. I chuckled along with her as I set her down, the earlier incident forgotten. We went off, searching for only the biggest and brightest flowers. 

* * *

 

“Here, Mr. Cole, this one’ll look pretty!” From up on my shoulders, Dawn plucked a clutch of pale pink hydrangea from a tall plant and nestled it amongst the lilies and roses in my hair. I spotted a sunset orange rose on a bush and passed it up to her to use in her own crown of flowers. “Alrighty, Mr. Cole, yours is done!”

I popped down into a plank position and let her roll off my left shoulder, giggling as she went. I tucked my knees under myself and sat up. “Dawn?”

She turned up from the rose she was smelling and toddled over to me after just a moment. “Yeah?”

“Now that our crowns are done, you said you would talk to me about whatever’s bothering you.” The statement turned up at the end, so it sounded more like a question than anything else. All at once, the little ray of sunshine in front of me cooled off and curled inward, face twisting into a grimace. She sat down in front of me, criss-cross-applesauce. The way she moved, jerky and shaky, it was clear she was forcing herself to move. I shifted to the same position, keeping my mouth shut, waiting. It was a trick that always worked with the others, letting them fill the silence so I could build on it. I waited for one, two, ten, then twenty or thirty moments before I realized exactly  _ who _ I was dealing with.  _ Come on, Cole, this is Dawn. The same kid who slept on the  _ roof _ for a week because she wanted to avoid talking. You gotta give  _ her _ something to go on. _ I glanced at her hands and realized they were shaking, clutching the fabric under them in a death grip.

“Hey, I’m not mad…” My eyes met hers, and the words died in my throat. The look on her face…

my heart twisted into a knot. 

Wide eyes, tight lips, brows knit together like they were never going to come apart. Terrified, for lack of a better word. I could almost see the anxieties bouncing around inside her head. “I’m not mad, Zip. Honest. I just need to make sure you’re okay.” I put my right hand out, and she put her left in it. I saw her right hand retreating, crawling up to her neck. She took a deep breath.

“It’s- I just- I mean, I...just...don't…” Her speech started quickly, jumping from idea to idea like a screensaver, but slowed as the ideas fell away. Another breath, another try; “I just don’t-” She paused, picking a word. Her right hand reached her chin, fingernails digging into tan skin. Her hand looked so small in mine, just a shade or two lighter than my own. I was so preoccupied in her hands that I almost didn’t catch the next words; “-trust him.”

“Him?” I repeated, before realizing the obvious choice.  _ She jumped off a ship two miles in the air, and I didn’t realize she doesn’t like Wu? Jeez loueez, how dense am I? _ I gave her hand a squeeze I hoped was reassuring, and she continued;

“I don’t exactly have a  _ why _ , but I just don’t like him, don’t trust him. Y’know?”

I paused, letting my mind wander for a split-second. 

_ “Dad, I don’t want to go! Please, don’t make me go!” _

_ He’s stern, that’s the word for it. Stern, always stern and stoic and never anything else. He grips the steering wheel tightly, the way he always does when I’m wasting his time. _

_ “Don’t be ridiculous, Coleman.” _

**_Ridiculous._ ** _ Is that what I am? Is avoiding the place that makes my stomach do cartwheels every time I think about it ridiculous?  _ **_Coleman._ ** _ He only uses my full name when I’m in big trouble. Did I do something wrong? Oh no, oh no, oh no- _

“Mr. Cole?”

I snapped back to the future, realizing with a jolt that Dawn had scooted closer, both of her hands wrapped around mine. Concern had replaced anxiety, and I felt guilty for the flashback.  _ Focus, rockhead. You’re making sure she’s okay, remember? _

“I’m alright, kid. And, uh, yeah, I know how you feel, hatin’ something for some reason you can’t explain. I get it.” She smiled nervously, still clearly concerned but slightly relaxed. “And,” I continued, fiddling with my shirt, “If you really don’t want to be around Wu, I can help.”

The smile she gave could’ve heated a cup of tea. It only widened when a daisy flopped out of place and hit directly between my eyes, making me flinch.

“ _ Thank you,  _ Mr. Cole.” She spoke reverently, and I smiled with her. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I reached for it with my free hand, answering it automatically.

“COLE-” Lloyd’s voice squeaked into my ear, making me flinch as I righted the fallen daisy.

“We’re fine, Lloyd. Bring the Bounty around, the kid’s alright.” The sighs of relief from the other end was unmistakable.  _ I’m on speakerphone, so don’t mention Wu. _ “Talk more when we get back, alright?” I hung up before anyone else could speak.

“Alright, we better get outta the way. Wouldn’t want the Bounty crushin’ us.”

“Crushing?” Dawn repeated with a hint of humor. I grabbed a berry off a nearby bush.

“Like a grape!” I pinched the fruit between two fingers, sending us into a fit of giggles. I stood, holding my arm out solid to let her pull herself up. She shuffled to my side as I led her to the side of the clearing, rearranging her arms to keep ahold of mine. When the Bounty came down, Wu was at the railing. Dawn sidestepped behind me, using be like a shield, and I let her.  _ No way am I gonna let Dawn go through  _ that _ mess.  _

_ The worries and the fear and the oh-no-oh-no.  _

_ Not while I’m around.  _

_ That stops today. _


	15. Totally Necessary Training Montage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission is getting closer, and Lloyd can't help but worry. Lloyd's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done! Oh boy, chapter 15! As a quick update, I'm aiming for about 24 chapters in total. Quick note, chapter 16 will be delayed. I'm going on vacation for a few days, but I'll get right on it once I come back.
> 
> Have a question/comment/suggestion? Comment! I love feedback!

The sun rose blindingly white, the dark sky splintering into yellows and oranges to greet the new day. Newborn light sparkled off the snow on the trees below, glowing just barely visible from my spot on the deck. The worn wooden deck creaked under my feet as I shifted my weight into a straddle, just some early-morning stretching to warm up for the day. The routine was comforting, a pillar standing up from a sea of chaos. _Maybe I should read a little less poetry_. No matter how many arguments broke out over the breakfast table, no matter how many monsters we faced, no matter what happened, I had my sunrise stretching.

_Even if Dad is gone._

_Even if I was possessed._

_Even if Dawn never learns Spinjitzu because she won’t go near Wu._

What had started as simple avoidance had turned into full-out war between the oldest and youngest members of the team, silent though it may be. Whenever Wu tried to herd Dawn away for a lesson, either Dawn would make a quick escape or one of the others would step in. Cole would snatch her away for a dance lesson, or Nya would have a new idea for a weapon of choice, or Zane would claim to need assistance with dinner. _I get that she doesn’t like Wu, but she still needs training, doesn’t she? I mean, we’re going in for a mission right now! I don’t think just an obstacle course is going to cut it!_

I realized my cheeks were heating up from bending over so long, and carefully stood up. I pulled my arms into quick zipper stretch, holding for a count of ten as I tried to leash the wave of worry that threatened to sour the sunrise.

_I should’ve been paying more attention. I should’ve been spending more time making sure she was ready before taking her on the mission. What if she gets hurt? God, what if she gets killed? I’d never, never, never-never forgive myself, nev-_

A little gasp brought my attention, and I immediately swiveled my head in the direction of the noise. Another noise rang out from behind a stack of crates, a little ‘Oh’ of shock, and I forced my suddenly taught muscles to relax. _Chill. It’s just Dawn reading a book or something._ I walked toward the stack, rolling my steps to limit noise. I peek over the top crate, and-

_Yep, there she is._ Still in her multi-striped pajamas, the littlest Elemental was leafing through an old book with yellowing pages and faded illustrations. The same one, I realized, that I had read from back at the Temple, the one with all of the fairy tales.

“It’s rude to look over people’s shoulders, Mr. Lloyd.”

The words were jolting, to say the least, but the tone was reassuringly light. I chuckled, “Oh, I’m sorry, is it?”

She closed the book, tucking it under her arm and twisting to stand. She laughs with me, “I dunno, that’s what Mr. Zane always says when I try to peek at what he’s cooking.” Her eyes met mine, and all of a sudden her face twists into concern. “Mr. Lloyd, something is bothering you.” It was clear from her tone that it wasn’t a question, she _knew_ something was up.

“Oh, y’ know, just excited.” I did my best to sound excited, “Your first mission! Yay!” 

Dawn’s eyebrow quirked up, face screaming ‘ _really?’_ I relented, stepping back and allowing her to come out. “You and I both know that kids are a lot less dumb than everyone says we are. If you think I need more training, then let’s train.” I was taken aback by the tone and was left to tow after Dawn as she headed belowdecks. I had half a mind to ask _why_ , but Dawn left no possibility for questions. Instead, she left me outside of her room, with only Cole’s snoring and the occasional rustle to keep me company. _Jeez. You say you’re gonna train, then ditch me? How-_ I didn’t even get the chance to come up with a fitting word before the door flew open.

“So; deck, or ground?” Dawn, newly dressed in a black training gi and slinging her bag on, smiled at me. It took a moment to realize that she was waiting for a response. I thought, then pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Zane. It didn’t take half a minute before I felt the Bounty begin to descend.

“Ground.”

She smiled and followed me as I headed to the main deck. The morning had come quickly, night shifting to bright sunrise and then azure blue before it could be appreciated. Dawn peeked over the railing, and I automatically put my arm out to keep her from getting too close. She quirked her eyebrow again but didn’t speak. As we watched, the Bounty descended to the ground, the snow-covered trees and remarkably still air providing a stark contrast to the burning heat of where we started from. We stayed there for a while, I watching Dawn and Dawn watching the scenery, dark eyes wide and watering from the light.

“Is there a reason for the unexpected decent?” We spun together, and Dawn shifted behind me as Wu tapped toward us, staff in hand. The little one let out a squeak of alarm as he came closer, and all of a sudden four different ninjas joined us on the deck, still in their pajamas. _Five_ , I noted, glancing Zane’s silver face around the mainmast.

“Just takin’ Dawn out for some early morning training, Sensei.” I tried to keep my voice as steady as possible and hoped it sounded better than my faux excitement. Sensei Wu nodded, and the sigh of relief from five different areas of the ship was unmistakable.

“Everyone trains on the ground today.” Wu proclaimed- then a bit quieter, “I shall have tea ready when you get back.”

A soft thud signaled that the Bounty had completed its descent, and Wu tapped back inside. All five of my teammates came out of their hiding places- _how Kai got up in the crow’s nest that fast is beyond me-_ and gathered in a rough circle around me. _Or, rather, around Dawn._

“You alright, Zipper?” Cole asked, his voice smooth and calm. Dawn nodded, and everyone let out another sigh of relief, deflating as muscles relaxed. I looked at Dawn, and she looked back at me, twin smiles painting our faces.

“So,” My voice sounded out like a kid in a candy shop, “what are we waiting for?”

_At least we’re on the ground this time._

I followed Dawn over the railing. The snow gave a satisfying _crunch_ as we landed. 

“What’s in the bag?” The smile Dawn gave reminded me of the one I often wore when I was setting up a surprise, impatience and excitement shining through like a sky full of stars. The rest of the team, dressed and ready, joined us on the forest floor one after the other before heading into the forest in a staggering sort of almost-line. I ended up in front, with Zane the scanner right behind me. Dawn was guided to the center of the group, with the other four ninjas guarding her at 3, 5, 7, and 9.

“This is s-stupid, why is it so c-c-cold?” Jay complained, not ten minutes into the walk.

“It’s a snow-covered forest, motormouth. Pretty obvious.”  

“Cole, don’t be rude. Remember our audience, please?” 

“I’ve heard much worse, Mr. Zane. Trust me.” Dawn’s voice carried an air of finality that was more than a little disturbing. I thought back to Joseph Miller’s language and immediately regretted it, doing my best not to flinch at the thought. “Although, I am a little cold. Anyone got a scarf or somethin’ I could borrow?”

I heard a little _whoop!_ and whipped around, sure that someone had hurt themselves, but instead, I was greeted with a series of smiles. Dawn, scooped up into a piggyback ride via Kai, was wrapped in every spare piece of cloth my teammates could wrangle up. I could barely see the kid under the series of candy-colored scarves draped around her. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What? I’m like a one-man space heater! Besides, can’t train when you’re all frozen. Right, kiddo?” Kai jostled his cargo around, smiling at the giggles he caused.

Zane waved a hand to get my attention, “There’s a large enough clearing 20 feet ahead.” 

“Thanks, dude! Alright, put her down.” 

Kai, grumbling all the way, shifted Dawn off his back as the tree line broke. The clearing, a tennis court-size circle of untouched snow, was enclosed by a thick wall of evergreens fit for a Winter Solstice festival, almost unbearingly bright under unhindered sunlight. We filed in, forming a rough ring around the outer edge of the clearing.

“Dawn?” I gestured to the center of the ring, and she assumed the position. She dropped her backpack, grabbing something out of it. I could only glance a burlap sack as she ruffled around.

“What’s in the bag, Dee-da-lee?” Jay craned his neck, trying to see. Dawn, a grin painting her face, reached in and pulled out…

_Oh crap._

The sai glinted silvery-white, one in each of Dawn’s little hands as she twisted and flipped them. I sputtered, words failing me. “Wha- how- who?” I glanced at my teammates, most of whom looked just as surprised as I felt. _Most._

“Kai?”

He chuckled nervously, eyes sweeping around as he tried to explain. Lacking options, he simply shrugged and said, “Birthday gift. I’m a sucker.”

I groaned, facepalming. “I hope you told her how to _use_ those things, Kai.”

“Of course!” Dawn piped up, drawing eyes. She pulled a couple of moves, switches and stabs that were admittedly impressive for someone so young. “Try me!”

I glanced at Nya and Jay, who shrugged and got into fighting stances. The others followed suit. 

“Alright. Don’t expect us to let you win, though-.” I made the mistake of blinking.

The screech of metal-on-metal pierced the air as Dawn blocked Zane’s punch, who had somehow moved ten feet in a split second. A moment passed where they held each other off, but I heard Dawn bark a laugh as Zane flew backward. The suddenly whistling wind barely covered the dull _thump_ made when nindroid hit ground, quickly replaced with a newly serious Water Ninja. 

Nya rushed and Dawn ducked, sending a gale after her combatant as she rushed by to send her careening into the snow. She glanced at me, eyes sparkling with confidence and another emotion I couldn’t quite name. It was a bit like longing and a bit like desperation and I only saw it for a second before she turned to face off with Jay. 

I saw blows traded, Jay very quickly forgetting that he was battling a literal child. A blue boot landed a kick, and Dawn went down. The air suddenly stilled, not even a whisper rustled the trees. My heart leaped into my throat and Jay’s face dropped in horror, retracting the offending leg. He shuffled forward, eyes wide and searching, leaning over the all too small black-and-tan form in the snow.

“Dee-” A black boot connected with Jay’s chest, cutting the word off with a deep _oof!_ as Dawn popped up to her feet. She watched Jay try and fail to recover, landing on his butt in the sparkling powder with a wet sort of _crunch_.

I didn’t get to laugh before a sai glinted into existence right next to my face, a splintering _crack_ sounding as it buried itself deep in the tree behind me. I tried to rush in, to get back at the all-too-smug little kid in the center, but I didn’t get half a step before feeling resistance. I turned and discovered that the sai had snagged the shoulder of my gi, silver glinting against the green fabric just close enough to keep me from moving. Another glance at Dawn, and I realized she was empty-handed. A glance up showed where the second sai had gone- buried a little too close to Cole’s head, holding him fast. Even if we wanted to get free, escape would risk bending the probably very expensive sai. I could only watch as Dawn and Kai circled each other, smiling like wolves about to pounce.

“Wasn’t very smart,” Kai tried a punch, just a test of the water Dawn easily avoided, “tossing away your weapons!” My almost-brother kept swinging, faster and faster as his combatant scrambled about the circle. He grabbed the back of her gi jacket and pulled, swinging her off her feet. I recognized the move, he’d done it to me back when I was small. Dawn wiggled free, losing her jacket in the process. Tan arms were exposed, along with an undershirt- purple and sleeveless. She huffed, breath fogging as it hit the air. _She must be so cold. Wait! Purple?_ I glanced at the sai buried next to me. The handle, instead of simple black, was the same shade as the shirt, a medium sort of _purple_ . As I watched, Dawn curled her ponytail up into a bun. She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a ribbon to fasten it. _Purple._

The realization hit me like a brick wall.

_Oh._

I grinned and tucked the thought away, silently promising to call the company as soon as we got back. _We still have a week left of traveling, too! She’ll have it before we get there!_ It was all I could do not to dance in place, but I forced myself to still as I watched the fight.

"Not my only weapons, Mr. Kai."

Kai tossed the jacket to the side, leaping back into a fighting stance. Dawn, her hair newly secured, did nothing to follow his example. Instead, she stretched out her arm. The air changed, humming with power. Little noises filled the air, a series of _clink clink clink_ with no discernible origin. Kai’s hands dropped slightly, face just as confused as I felt. The clinking continued, louder and louder before I noticed the shining dark something steadily forming behind Kai. The Master of Fire turned to face the mass of black marbles seemingly picking themselves out of the backpack. He stumbled back, trying to make a getaway. The marbles, at least a hundred spheres of perfect onyx, whipped around Kai in a one-person cyclone. I tore my eyes to the side of the clearing, to Dawn. Arm still out and steady, the churning wind rustling her dark hair. Through the curtain of black, I could glimpse her face; a confident smirk, narrowed eyes, tan features a little too familiar. I felt my heart speed up. My head got too light.

_It’s alright. Morro’s gone, that’s Dawn there._

_Small and adorable and tries too hard to be liked._

_Somehow knows what’s wrong from a glance alone._

_Hides when it’s her turn to sweep._

_It’s Dawn; you’re safe._

_You’re safe._

The cyclone got tighter, swirling fast enough to obscure the view of the fire master within. Above the clinking, a shout sounded out; Kai, definitely in pain.

All of a sudden the air went still, the marbles dropping out of the air like shot birds. The sai pinning my sleeve wrenched itself from the tree, spinning back to Dawn’s hands with its twin quickly in tow. Dawn reached Kai first, myself and the others following suit.

“I’m fine, kiddo.” Kai sat up, clutching his shoulder. He pushed against the ground with his other hand, popping up to his feet. “I’m good!”

“MrKaiImsorrysosorryIthoughtIwasbeingmorecarefulImsorry-”

“Dawn.” She looks up at me through suddenly wet eyes, cheeks tight with panic and lips blue from the cold. _Keep your voice calm. Don’t scare her._ “Where did you learn to do that?”

Hiccoughs broke through the words, spoken in a tiny voice. Her hand crawled up to grip her chin, adding to the myriad of little white prick-marks that riddled the skin there.  “Well, I’ve been, been practicin’ my cyclones, an’ Mr. Zane got me those nice marbles-”

“I too am a sucker” The nindroid piped up, earning a tiny chuckle.

“- an’ I just wanted to, wanted to be cool an’ powerful like you guys and I’m s-sorry-”

“Dawn, that’s incredible.”

She stopped, the nails on her chin relenting and exposing fresh indents in the skin. Confusion mixed with awe, eye contact only breaking when Cole scooped the little one up into a bear hug, sending her into a fit of giggles. “Incredible, Zip! I can’t believe it! How many tricks have you got up your sleeves?”

“Sleeves!” Jay yelled suddenly, ducking away from the circle and diving into a snowdrift. The reason became clear when he popped up, holding the forgotten and thoroughly frozen training gi jacket. “Can’t lose this!”

_Won’t matter in a few days,_ I thought with a smile. The smile only widened as Dawn was crowded, first Kai then Nya and Zane and myself until it was one giant group-hug in the middle of the forest, trying to keep Dawn from freezing. Muffled laughter sounded from the middle of the ninja pile.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been hugged this much!”

I glanced at the others and squeezed a little harder. _This kid deserves all the hugs in the world._ My phone buzzed in my pocket. 

> Lloyd, return to the ship. It is time we continue onward.

Okay, Sensei. We’re on our way.<

“Come on, guys. Breakfast time.” The ninja pile broke into a line, leaving Dawn holding hands with human-radiator Kai. Her other hand reached up and grabbed mine. I beamed down at her, and she smiled back.

“All right, let’s go home.”


	16. Good Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, this is after s6 and DotD, but before s7. 
> 
> Tbh, I just wanted some more interaction with Dawn and Zane.
> 
> Next up? 2000 words of fighting! Oh boy!

_ The Purple Ninja. _

The title sounded strange in my head and even stranger when I tried to say it out loud. Whenever I tried, the words just wouldn't come out, like the universe itself refused to acknowledge the idea.  I smoothed the bedcovers I was sitting on, trying to make sense of the words. I didn’t even try to tag ‘Master of Wind’ onto the statement, it just didn’t compute. A little girl, just eight years old and still learning times tables, joining the ranks of Ninjago’s greatest protectors? It sounded crazier than snakes with legs. I glanced down at my pajama sleeve, the bright stripes stark against tan skin. Six colors, one for each of the ninja.

_ The  _ **_other_ ** _ ninja, you’re one too. _

My mind tried to wrap itself around the idea. I traced a green stripe up to my elbow, crossing my arms and keeping my eyes down.  _ I can’t look at it. I just can’t. No. _

Despite myself, I looked up, to the gi hanging on the wardrobe. Perfectly tailored and perfectly purple, with little gold embellishments that shone in the sunbeams that crept through the gaps in the curtains. On the chest, just above the heart, laid a golden medallion featuring a pattern like a cyclone- the symbol for Wind.  _ My symbol _ .

I curled in on myself a little tighter, pulling my knees to my chest. My eyes darted to the clock on the wall.  _ I’ve been in here for ten minutes. Someone’s gonna get concerned. _

Right on cue, footsteps sounded in the hall. Too heavy for Mr. Jay or Miss Nya or Mr. Lloyd. The floor groaned under the weight, long creaks for rolled steps. I knew who it was even before the telltale knocks sounded, five short raps exactly the same length apart.

“You can come in, Mr. Zane.”

A silver face peeked through the door as it opened, sporting a smile that tried to veil concern and failed miserably.

“Dawn, you’re not dressed yet. Is there something concerning you?” 

A million different worries bounded around in my head, so fast that words couldn’t be caught in time, so I was left with a buzz of anxiety about as useful as a broken pickaxe. I couldn’t even manage a nod through the buzzing in my head. I hated the feeling, the panic drumming, and stomach-churning and panic drumming; making me feel too light like I might float away. The nindroid’s veil dropped, exposing concern and panic to rival my own. I blinked, and all of a sudden a silver face was next to mine, bright blue eyes wide and searching.

“Dawn, can you hear me? Pixal,” he added, dropping his voice to a mutter, “analysis, please.”

“Panic attack,” a smaller, female voice sounded from somewhere in Mr. Zane’s head. “worse than usual.”

_ Sure feels like it. _ I could almost feel myself dying, contrasted with the pounding of my heartbeat all the way to my fingertips. I curled into a tighter ball, clenching every muscle in my body and holding my breath. It took a count of two for Mr. Zane to realize what I was doing, and another half-count to start freaking out.

“Dawn? Oh no,  _ Dawn? _ Pixal, help!” His hands jerked up like he was soothing a wild animal, scared to touch me. I held on, tightening and holding for a count of twenty that felt like three hundred. A little  _ whirr _ sounded, then Miss Pixal’s voice; 

“According to several anxiety forums and therapy websites, this is a common method of coping with panic attacks. She’s going to be okay.” She had to repeat the last phrase several times before Mr. Zane actually calmed down. It would have been funny if I didn’t feel like I was dying. My breath ran out as the count reached 60, and I slowly exhaled. Mr. Zane’s eyes flickered and he nodded, forcing himself to relax.

“Again.” We inhaled together, slowly. Mr. Zane shifted to sit across from me on the bed, criss-cross applesauce. 

Ten…

_ Focus _

Twenty…

_ You’re safe  _

Thirty…

_ Nobody here will hurt you _

Forty...

_ You’re going to be fine. _

Fifty…

_ Baby steps _

Sixty. A whistle hit the air as Mr. Zane’s artificial lungs expelled air in time with mine. I relaxed my muscles, relieved to find that the buzzing had cleared slightly.

“Again?”

I shook my head no and took the hand he offered. The metal hand was cold, strangely comforting. A lifeline.

“Do you want to talk?”

I tried to smile, but it probably came out crooked. I cleared my throat, trying to wrangle some sort of courage. “Advice?” My voice sounded croaky, and a little too broken for comfort. He smiled, and a hum kicked on from inside the metal chest. The cool hand suddenly turned warm. Heating systems, I realized. _ Clever. _

“Well, that’s a broad subject.” His eyes flickered again, an entire world of downloaded information from a million different sources snapping behind electric blue membranes. “I could weigh in on what colors look best with your color scheme- according to Pixal, you’re a ‘spring’, whatever that means. Ooh, or I could tell you more practical things like ‘brush your teeth’ or ‘don’t eat dinner when it’s Cole’s night to cook’.”

A tired sort of chuckle escaped. I gave the hand a squeeze and realized that I was cold. A quick glance around the room came with a twinge of regret as my eyes flickered over the gi on the wardrobe. I must’ve flinched because the nindroid’s brow set lower over his eyes.

“Or,” he started, grabbing the blanket bunched up behind him and nudging it over to me, “I could tell you what a disaster I was when I first started.”

My eyes snapped to his. I couldn’t stop the little ‘what?’ that escaped me, but the idea sounded ridiculous. Mr. Zane, easily one of the coolest people  _ ever _ , Titanium Ninja, Master of Ice, original Nindroid, protector of the innocent? He and the word ‘disaster’ didn’t fit. I thought for a second, back to the stories I’d been told, and my brows knit together.

“Mr. Zane, you recovered the four missing Golden Weapons and defeated a skeleton army. Not what I’d call a disaster.”

He looked surprised, then chuckled. “Ah, but I mean  _ before _ that. Back when it was just Cole, Jay and I training at the Monastery.”

“Before you got your colors?”

“Yes. We were just starting out, learning how to fight both alone and as a trio.” He slipped his hand out of mine, grabbing the blanket and draping it over my shoulders. The loss of the hand made me realize just how cold I was, and I burrowed into the covers. “I was… not the person I am today. I was without friends or family or any sense of who I was. My… eccentricities” he chose the word like he was picking a wire to disarm a bomb, “led me to many,  _ many  _ errors.”

“How many?” 

“Have you ever seen a ninja pinned to the wall upside-down with his own throwing stars?”

I couldn’t stop the giggles, and Mr. Zane kept me well supplied with reasons to laugh. The time he followed a bird into the woods ‘because it danced’. 

The infamous pink apron. 

‘What does Zane stand for?’ 

I was in stitches under my blanket, little tears of laughter pricking at the corners of my eyes.

“What I’m saying, Dawn, is that you’re going to make some mistakes. I have no doubt in my mind of that.”

“How encouraging.” I was surprised at my suddenly sarcastic tone. Mr. Zane quirked a brow, indicating mutual surprise.  _ Maybe I’ve been hanging around Mr. Kai a little too long. _

“However, you  _ will  _ get better.” He put a hand on my shoulder, and I smiled. “You’ll get better and better, and the entire universe is going to sit up and take notice, okay-”

My chin tucked upon his shoulder and a pair of arms wrapped around my middle not a second later. I heard a little  _ oof,  _ then a chuckle.

“Whoa, what warranted this? Wasn’t it just a month or two ago you were sleeping on the roof?”

I rolled my eyes and ignored the question. “Thanks for the advice, Mr. Zane. I feel a lot better.”

“I’m glad, Dawn. Now, get dressed. If you take any longer Cole will have a heart attack.” He stood and crossed the room in a few rolled strides. He reached for the door handle, then seemed to remember something. He reached into a pocket on his gi jacket and pulled out a letter. “Oh, and we took the liberty of gathering some advice from another source.” He frisbee’d the letter in my direction, and I caught it with practiced ease. 

“Ha, good reflexes.” And the door shut behind him. I only heard I didn’t see- I was busy studying the envelope.

The paper envelope crinkled softly in my grasp, yellowed around the edges- water damage.  _ Wasn’t there a rainstorm in New Ninjago City a few days ago?  _ The writing was messy, with crooked letters and the occasional blot of ink where the writer hadn’t been careful enough with the pen- most likely someone young, maybe my age or a bit older. I glanced at the name- Nelson *something*, the last name blotted out with careless ink. It didn’t ring a bell, leaving me with no other clues to go on. I sighed and opened the letter. I spared a glance at the date in the corner- just a few days ago- and started to read.

_ Hello, Dawn! _

_ My name is Nelson, the unofficial Purple Ninja. Yesterday my mom got an email from the ninja saying that they found an  _ official  _ Purple Ninja and that they’d like me to send you a letter, so here it is! I’m so happy that Purple is finally joining the official Ninja lineup! (to be totally honest, I’m just excited that I can finally buy an official purple ninja gi in a few weeks after the merchandise comes out!) I really hope you’ll be able to visit after your mission, I have so many questions! Where did you come from? What powers do you have? What are the Ninja really like? Please write back soon! _

_ Sincerely, Nelson. _

At the bottom of the page- quite a large space, as the letter was only about a paragraph- was a crude drawing of a ninja in a purple gi high-fiving a boy in a purple shirt. I couldn’t help the smile, I had never really had an encouraging letter before. I forced myself to loosen my grip on the paper for fear of ripping it, walking it over to my little desk and placing it gingerly by the photos. Encouraging words and smiles from the past joining together made a little corner of happiness that all but demanded a smile. I sat at my desk and grabbed paper and pen, scribbling out a few hurried letters. 

_ Dear Uncle... _

_ Dear Mr. Ronin... _

_ Dear Miss Skylor... _

_ Dear Nelson… _

A shuffle of footsteps caught my attention as I signed the last letter, at least four different kinds of footsteps. I glanced at the clock and jumped at the realization.  _ Holy moly, I’ve been in here for half an hour. _ I folded the letters into envelopes, hastily addressing them as three hesitant knocks hit the door- Mr. Lloyd.

“Uh, Dawn? You alright, buddy?”

I pushed against the desk, sliding my chair back as I stood up. I snagged the gi on the wardrobe.

“I’m coming!”

_ Time to be great. _


	17. Rushing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn is officially a Ninja, the crew completes their journey, and the mission may be more important than it appeared. Everything moves just a little too fast. Kai's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, here we go.

“I’m coming!”

The sigh of relief that filled the hallway could have parted my hair. Everyone had been anxiety incarnate, even with reassurance from Zane. He herded us out of the hallway and back onto the deck, muttering smugly. The sun lit us up one by one as we filed out, thankfully out of the freezing forest from last week. As we formed a semi-circle, I could spot all the different levels of panic, ranging from Zane’s ‘concerned but reassured’ to Cole’s ‘I’m having a stroke’. I, personally, was teetering toward the latter end. 

_What if_ _Dawn hates her gi? What if Dawn doesn’t want to be a ninja? What if Dawn’s gi catches fire and she needs a new one? What if_ Dawn _catches fire and she gets hurt?_ Scenarios forced their way through my mind, each one crazier and more fire-filled than the last. 

I sat with Cole on a crate, exchanging wild glances. Jay and Nya worked to keep each other calm, and Zane sat pondering with Pixal at the end of the line. Only Lloyd kept to himself, pacing back and forth on the deck. Sensei Wu, I could only assume, was somewhere below deck- keeping his distance from the kid who wanted nothing to do with him.

“What if she doesn’t like the color?” Lloyd’s voice was so broken it was nearly shattered, with good reason. Giving the kid her color this early was his idea, and he was pulling an Atlas with everything that could go wrong. “What if it doesn’t fit? What if she’s allergic to something in the fabric? What if-”

“Lloyd!, dude, chill!” I spoke before I realized I was, the tone harsher than I’d meant. Lloyd flinched, pacing halting suddenly. I took a breath, adjusting my tone. “Hey,” the words melted like butter in my mouth, soothing and soft, “Let’s just wait and see, okay? We’ll cross those bridges when and  _ if _ we come to them.”  _ Hypocrite,  _ my mind screamed at me over the words. I ignored it, focusing on Lloyd. He took a slow, shuddering breath, and sat on a nearby crate. 

“You’re right.”

“Right about what, Mr. Lloyd?” Everyone’s eyes swiveled to the door, where Dawn suddenly stood. Training gi forgotten, she instead wore the custom-fit purple gi that cemented her place in the team. The golden embellishments glittered in the sun, but nothing compared to the faces in my peripheral vision. I thought Jay’s face was going to split in two with the grin, and the ache in my cheeks hinted at a beam of my own. It took a moment to realize the one face that wasn’t grinning; Dawn’s. She looked much like she did when we first met her, back on the roof of Ronin’s shop- like a little stray kitten who didn’t yet know whether to run or not. The realization hit, and I felt guilty for assuming she’d automatically adapt to such a strange and new situation.  _ She’s just a kid, you’ve gotta give her something to work with. _

“You look incredible, Zip.” Cole, always the solid support, piped up. She looked down at herself, the purple and gold shining under a curtain of dark hair, then straightened. The expression she wore was a bit like happiness and a bit like confidence and it fit her like a glove.

“I feel incredible.” Three little words in a singsong voice and all of a sudden the deck exploded with cheers and hugs and the realization that there were three more days of traveling before we reached our destination.

The next few days passed in a happy blur. We sent the letters Dawn gave us with no question, I wasn’t even curious about what she had written. I wasn’t worried, because she was ours and we were hers and the family just got bigger. Meals ended with clear plates and bouts of laughter I was sure could be heard from the ground. Training was near-constant but it took on a different energy. It was no longer basic, ‘keep her alive’ stuff, the training became more playful, pushing her and somehow being surprised every time she pushed back. Those sai, she proved again and again, were not a toy. It seemed only hours passed, but everyone was forced back to reality when Wu called for a final ‘pre-mission check’ on the upper deck.

“Now,” Wu paced in front of the holoscreen, watching us watch him. His eyes swept over where I was standing, and I heard a shuffle as Dawn stepped farther back. Cole and I stood protectively in front of her, acting as a barrier. “We know that this village- what was it called, again?”

“Toroburu, a farming village.” Zane piped up from the end of the line.

“Ah, yes. We know that Toroburu has been overridden by a gang and- oh dear, what was it called?”

“Sensei,” the nindroid spoke up again, sounding notably less patient than the first time, “Perhaps I should lead the briefing?”

Sensei stepped back, and Zane stepped up to the screen, tapping the keyboard furiously. Pictures blinked into existence, emphasizing each word.

“Toroburu, a farming village. Main exports: rice and rice wine. A month or so ago, it was reported that a gang of criminals calling themselves the ‘Eyes of the Cursed’ took control of the village and have been holding it and its’ inhabitants hostage.”

I facepalmed, the realization hitting. “Cursed? Eye? Cripes, don’t tell me-”

“They seem to be an occult group that worships the Preeminent.”

_ Cripes. The last thing we need is a bunch of wackos singin’ hallelujah to the worst thing in the universe- wait. The Preeminent? Didn’t we- _

“Wasn’t the Preeminent destroyed?” Nya beat me to the punch, fists, and teeth clenched. Of course, she was the one who drowned the Preeminent in the first place, she had a right to be pissed if the thing was still kickin’. 

Zane smiled apologetically and continued typing. “It appears that they believe that the Preeminent could be revived with a specific ritual. Now, the details of the ritual are unknown but if it works-”

“We could be looking at the revival of the Preeminent. The possible end of the world.” Dawn’s small, high voice sounded almost comical in its contrast to the words, but the severity was there. 

I felt a familiar burn build in my chest, fingernails digging into my palms with sudden severity. “Just  _ once _ ,” the tone scared even me, but I couldn’t help it. “Just once, can we just have a mission that  _ doesn’t  _ have the apocalypse as a string attached, or is that just not a thing that can happen?”

“Kai-”

“No, Zane, I’m not  _ done  _ yet!” The heat spread from my chest to my hands and feet and even pressing behind my eyes. Boiling tears clouded my vision, “Every time I turn around there’s a new wackjob looking to make the world his chew-toy, and I’m  _ sick _ of it! All I want to do right now is to take a break and fly a kite with my ever-increasing number of kid siblings!”

“ _ Kai-” _

“Let me speak, for God’s sake let me  _ speak _ , Nya! I haven’t had a day to be a kid since I was six!” The words came faster and faster, spilling like the lava slowly melting my insides. I spun, catching the eyes of everyone I considered family, my four brothers and two __ sisters. Any warm fuzzies were engulfed by the burning fury. Any attempt to calm myself was incinerated like a hair on a candle-flame, leaving only hurt and ash in its wake. “Parents gone, left nothing but a sister and a shop to care for, then thrown into the ninja business.  _ Do you realize _ how long it has been since I’ve had the chance to just-”

“MR. KAI!”

I turned, eyes smoking, to the source. Dawn, little Dawn, with a death grip on Cole’s sleeve. The look on her face…

All in an instant, the anger evaporated, replaced with an empty pit of guilt and shame. Dawn’s eyes were filled with shiny tears threatening to spill. She took my hand. It took all I had not to flinch away, expecting a scolding.  _ Or worse- disappointment. _

“We’re over the drop zone.”

Before I could say- or rather stutter- anything, the Purple Ninja ran fearless to the railing, with me stumbling in tow. I half-heard an electronic voice give a countdown, and followed a purple-and-tan blur over the railing of a ship two miles in the air. None of us even needed to use Airjitzu, the drop was handled by our handy-dandy Master of Wind. Her hand kept a grip on mine as she materialized a cyclone to slow our fall. It took less than a minute, and then we were standing in the middle of an awesome town square. Or, rather, it would have been awesome if it wasn’t deserted. A marble fountain stood dry in the center of it all, ringed by deserted carts and deflated balloons that squeaked sadly underfoot. The whole thing was enclosed with a rough square of closed shops. The scent of dust lingered in the silent air. 

“Whoa,” Jay broke the silence, keeping a grip on Nya’s hand. “What, did they chase everyone outta here?”

“No.” I realized my hand was suddenly empty and twisted to search the area. Dawn was looking in a window with ‘BAKERY’ on it. “This window is empty, they woulda left somethin’ if it was a chase-out. This was an intentional clearing.”

Nya shrugged, “A gang’s gotta feed itself, hasn’t it? Probably cleared the place out.”

“Which begs the question,” I carried on, “where are they?”

Almost on cue, the still air turned sour. The shadows came to life, maybe two dozen guys jumping out of nowhere, cloaked in black with green sashes and veils. I glanced just one of them and the burn returned, but different. It did not threaten to burn me, no, it instead was focused outward, seeking to engulf any and all who threaten me and mine. I let it, lunging forward and landing any possible blow on green-veiled flesh, dimly aware of animalistic screams. Whether they were from myself of my combatants remained unclear, but the sounds continued. Cyclones whipped at the edges of my vision, black and green and blue and gray and white and-

Purple.

It was only for a moment, less than a count of ten, but it was there. Bright and beautiful and pushed faster than any with the controlled wind. Seven different cloaked figures knocked out in its wake. She stumbled out of her cyclone, landing on her back. A loud laugh pierced the air, high and perfect. Then-

Everything happened at once.

Time froze.

The darkness behind her moved.

I didn’t even see the last guy in the shadows until he was gone.

My heart sunk.

 

He was gone

 

and so

 

was

 

_ Dawn. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads-up, next chapter's going to be Ronin's POV, so that's going to go well.


	18. In Loco Parentis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ronin's POV.
> 
> Sorry this took so long! On the bright side, Ch 19 is also done.
> 
> P.S. there's a little gay if you squint :D

“Ronin! How are ya doing, bud?” Dareth burst through the door in a louder-than-average suit, all silver and white stark against the antiques littering the shelves. On anyone else, it would have been ridiculous. On Dareth, however, it was just the perfect amount of silly that I had come to expect from him. 

“Bein’ friendly ain't gonna get you a discount, D.” I rummaged around in the shelf behind my desk, reorganizing everything for the millionth time in a month.

“Who says I’m here for a purchase?”

“What else would you be here for?” It came out harsher than I’d meant it, but tone management was the farthest thing from my mind.  _ Dawn’s going on her first mission. What if something goes wrong? What if she gets hurt? What if- _

“For the record, I’m  _ trying  _ to bring you your mail like a good friend.” I turned- visibility is limited with only one eye- and saw the lavender envelope Dareth held. It took all I had not to snatch it away as he kept talking, yammering on about me working too hard and something about a lunch special at a new cafe he wanted to try out. The second that letter was on the desk I swiped it up and tore it open.

“Ro? You listening, buddy?”

“It’s from Dawn!” My voice came out a little louder than I’d expected, relief and excitement creeping into my voice. “It’s from the kid, the Wind elemental!”

Dareth rounded the counter in the blink of an eye, watching over my shoulder as I unfold the letter. It was short, barely half a page, but written in the same careful cursive as the other letters she had sent me. They were still sitting in my desk, all neatly folded and stacked and well within grabbing distance. I hoped Dareth didn’t feel like poking around, or else I’d look even more like a softie.

_ Dear Mr. Ronin, _

 

I loved how Dawn always addressed everyone by ‘Mister’ or ‘Miss’ something- for someone who received very little respect, a ‘Mister’ was more than welcome.

 

_ I miss you a lot, but the trip is going well and I’m feeling a lot more control over my powers- I’ve been practicing every day, and the others are really good teachers. I’ve made up and mastered a couple more neat little tricks- boosted jumping, making things spin, and just last week I discovered how to pull my sai out of a tree with the wind alone! I’ll show you when I get back. I hope you’ll be impressed, your tricks probably outnumber mine ten to one. Maybe you can teach me one or two when I get back? Please? Pickpocketing could be useful on missions! (I really hope Mr. Zane doesn’t proofread this, or else I’ll get a lecture on morality) _

 

I couldn’t help but crack a smile. Even Dareth’s obnoxious ‘aww!’ couldn’t dull my grin. Just the thought of someone wanting to  _ learn  _ something from me sounded so wonderfully ridiculous my face felt like it was going to split in half.

 

_ There’s something else, something really really important that just happened. I’ve- _

 

The next few attempts at words are scribbled out, and I narrow my eye.  _ The kid is usually so careful with pen and paper. What’s the big idea?  _ I heard Dareth gasp from over my shoulder, and my eye darted down to the next legible words. It was all I could do not to gasp myself as I gawked at the line.

 

_ I’ve just been appointed the title of the Purple Ninja. It’s official, Mr. Ronin! I got my color! I’m going into my first mission in my very own gi! I’ll show you when we get back, but in the meantime, could you send me some advice? It doesn’t have to be a lot, but everything’s shifting and some encouragement would mean the world to me. Sincerely, Dawn- the Purple Ninja and Master of Wind!  _

_ P.S: Oof, still sounds weird. I think I’ll stick with introducing myself as ‘Dawn’ for a little while. _

 

A chuckle turned into a whoop and I found myself hugging Dareth before I knew what was happening.

“Wo-ho-ho! Who’s friendly now?” Immediately I let go and stepped back even before the sentence was over, running through every possible backtrack I could go through, but Dareth waved me off before I could even try. He nodded at the letter, “I get it; I’d be shouting from the rooftops if I had a kid powerful enough to join Ninjago’s protectors.”

“She’s- she’s not mine.” I could barely stutter it out, mind suddenly zooming with anxiety for no real good reason. 

“You sure about that?”

Before I could speak, or do anything for that matter, Skylor burst in waving an identical piece of paper in the air. She was flanked, curiously, by two people- I could only glance electric green and salt-and-pepper hair before the shouting started.

“ _ Roooo _ -nin!” She bounded over to the desk, clearing a solid six inches of air with each bounce. She stuck her face next to mine, grin blinding framed by fluorescent lighting. “Did you get your letter?”

“Yeah, and I’m ecstatic, but-” I whipped around and stared at Dareth, who was surveying the room like he was watching reality TV. “-what  _ exactly _ did you mean by  _ that _ ?”

Always one for theatrics, he padded around to the front of the desk like a glittery poodle at a dog show. “What I mean is you’ve been very  _ parent-y _ lately- first with helping Nya and her powers, now with Little Miss Wind- I wouldn’t be surprised if you adopted the kid.”

Through my sputters, he turned to Skylor and her friends, gesturing to the two flankers with what could only be a confused expression.

“Oh, right!” Skylor turned to her right and gestured between Dareth and the green-haired person, a teenage girl wearing neon green almost exclusively- going so far as to use eyeliner in the same shade of green apple. “This is Tox, Master of Poison.”

“Heya,” Tox threw up a hand in greeting, and I noticed a subtle green tinge under her almost translucent skin.  _ Poison,  _ I thought, and made a note to stay on her good side.

“And this-” Skylor indicated the figure to her left, a man not much older than myself with gray and white hair and matching clothes, “this is Neuro, Master of Mind.”

_ “Hello.”  _ came a masculine voice from inside my head, deeper than my own. I could  _ feel  _ him in my head, just on the surface. I fought back against a flinch- the thought of someone reading anyone’s mind was terrifying, but even more so for a career criminal.

“Now, what are we talking about?” Skylor turned to me, face twisting into a smirk as she read my expression. “Aww, is someone feeling parental?”

“None of your business,” I tried to say, but the presence was back in my head and I could feel him pressing in, enough pressure to let me know he could do more if need be. There would be no use trying to lie, so I shrugged and took a seat in a squishy antique armchair, waving for everyone else to follow suit.

“It’s not like I don’t like the kid.” I decided my words carefully, watching everyone at once as they settled onto chairs and stools- Dareth, of course, stretching out on my fanciest chaise, in what could only be described as an  _ adorably _ goofy ‘draw me like one of your French girl’ pose. “It’s not like I don’t care for her. And- and it’s not like I wouldn’t  _ like _ to care for her, it’s just that...”

_ I don’t deserve it. Anything like it. Anyone like her. _

I felt the pressure in my head turn on and my eye snapped up to Neuro, whose face was tied up in something halfway between concern and sympathy- two emotions I  _ never  _ expected to be shown. I turned away, grabbing for the edge of my desk and pulling myself up.

“Doesn’t matter anyway. She’s stickin’ with the ninja, remember?”

The three Elementals traded looks, and I saw Skylor reach ever-so-subtly toward her pants pocket, where the letter had been tucked.

“Ronin, can I see your letter?”

I waved towards the page- still on the desk- and Skylor snatched it up, comparing it to her own. Dareth rolled off the chaise and crowded next to Tox, all four of them poring over the papers like a snob over an antique lamp. I could hear the occasional word, ‘here’ and ‘look’ and more than one ‘dumbass’, and I had a guess  _ who _ exactly they were referring to.

“Ronin,” Dareth said after a long,  _ long _ moment, “Did you actually  _ read  _ this letter?”

“Of course.” I couldn’t help but snap, “Why would I-”

The pressure returned to my head, and I cut my words short. It was heavier than the first times, enough to weigh me down and keep me quiet while Neuro did whatever the hell he wanted. His face, however, showed only determination.

“This child,” he said, serious as the grave, “she looks up to you. She respects you, emulates you, dare I say  _ idolizes  _ you. I have never read her mind, and  _ I  _ can tell you that, from the written word alone. You would see too, had you not blinded yourself with a curtain of self-deprecation.”

A long moment passed. I felt my heartbeat spread around my body, to my ears, and to my fingertips until I had to dig my nails into my desk to keep myself from falling over. I started counting, staring at the group before me while they stared back.

One.

Two.

Three.

Five.

Ten.

“You really can’t be subtle, can you?”

Neuro broke eye contact and whipped around to face Dareth, whose hands were on his hips. “Bold words coming from a man in a sequin tuxedo.”

Dareth threw his hands up in mock surrender, smiling at me. “Mr. Mind does have a point, Ro. Look at these-” he grabbed the letters and placed them on the desk, tapping individual lines to emphasize each word. “Asking you to teach her things, missing you, asking for advice? Keeping that stuffed bear you gave her, even though it only has one eye? Those are important things, Ronin.”

I can feel the next line before I hear it. Maybe it’s Tox’s expression that gives it away, maybe it’s one of those ‘extra senses’ movies are all yammering about; the air shifts, or maybe reality does, or maybe I’m so far gone I start panicking before the sentence even starts.

“Sounds like you’re a dad, mister.” 

My phone rang.

It rang again.

Again.

My hands were shaking so bad, I nearly dropped it.

“Hello?”

Nya’s voice spoke, as shaky as my own. Through the static in the speaker, it sounded like she was crying.

“Nya?” Concern snapped my voice back to normal, and I put her on speakerphone.

“Ronin.” It took a solid ten seconds for her to get the single word out through the sobs and hiccoughs. My one good eye’s vision went white with fear, and it was like I drifted away from myself. When Nya explained what happened, the arrival and the fight and Dawn-  _ little Dawn, sweet Dawn, precious Dawn- _ they had been trying to find her for hours.

I didn’t hear her ask for help.

I didn’t even hear the destination.

I could only watch as five bodies shot outside the door, three dragons popped into existence. 

I didn’t even realize we were in the air until I felt the full-speed winds whipping at my face and clothes. They were screaming for their Elemental, their little friend with the dark features and a bright soul.

_ I will _ , I promised them, each and every burst of wind that threatened to tear my hat away. Every second, with every fiber of my being, I promised.

_ Two Days,  _ I dimly registered Skylor saying.

_ I promise I’ll get her back _

_ I’ll make whoever did this pay. _

_ I’ll keep her safe. _

_ If she’ll have me, _

_ forever and always. _

_ I promise. _


	19. POW

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a prisoner of the Eyes of the Cursed, Dawn has a checklist; friends to make, stories to hear, and a very difficult decision to make.

_ I’m in my room, sparse and suffocating with only a single flickering light to cut the smoke- just as it always has been- when I hear her crying. It’s not unusual, I can barely remember a time when she didn’t cry every day, but it never fails to make my head light and my heart drum. _

_ “He’s trying for visitation rights-” she sobs to whoever was foolish enough to pay her a visit. I don’t have to wonder who ‘he’ is, it’s all we can call him without inducing a panic attack. “-and he’s going to get them, I know he is.” _

_ “Anne-” I don’t recognize the voice, it’s probably one of the ladies from her group. I’ve never been allowed to go to a meeting. I guess I’m not good enough. _

_ “Judge McCoy is out on vacation, and he’s got Murphy in his pocket!” Her sobs are muffled, but I can still hear her. I’ve trained myself to notice tiny details, listening and watching and waiting until it’s time to hide. I reckon it’s saved my life more than once. My wrist still hurts from when I dropped a plate the night before the divorce was finalized, and I doubt those cigarette burns on my shoulder will ever really go away; at least my arm wasn’t broken. I was lucky, or maybe he was just too tired to get really angry. _

_ Still, it would be in my best interest not to have an encounter with  _ him _ again. Where would I go, though? There’s no one in the world who would ever care about me, I’ve been told more than enough times to know. _

_ A hand comes into view, covered with a black glove and a long sleeve but I can see a little stripe of golden tan skin, just about the same as mine. It leads me away, until the sobs and the smoke and the looming fear of cloudy glass bottles is nothing but a little locked box at the back of my memory. I follow it dutifully- or at least the memory of it, of  _ him _ \- through tall mountains and poisonous marshes until the blue sky turns white. _

_ The forest is quiet and beautiful; each and every one of the pale trees bares its own shimmering coat of ice, like diamonds in the cold light. Everything is cold here; the bitter, burning kind of cold where it feels like your blood freezes in your veins. My feet ache in their patchwork shoes and the blanket I stole is too thin to be of any use. My vision is white, either from the relentless snow or the blinding pain. A hand reaches through the haze, a curious shade of silver, and takes my hand. It- no,  _ he _ leads me through the cold, and suddenly I’m not scared of the snow anymore. _

_ The silver hand leaves me and I find myself in a grassland, the flat kind with three-foot-high grasses that spread as far as the eye can see and sun that warms you right to your bones. I stay there for a moment, relishing the clear sky, before I notice something. Smoke, black and billowing as the robes of death itself, shooting across the grass and obscuring the sky. Fire, I realize, is spreading like only fire can, coming closer and closer. The heat grows, and with it my inability to breathe. It’s choking me, the smoke and the heat and the tears pricking at my stinging eyes. I barely see the hand before I take it, bronze skin and red fabric as he pulls me through the fire. I gasp for air, flying sparks kissing the edges of my sleeve, and I find myself laughing in the flames. _

_ The grassland ends and the hand lets go as I tip into some sort of body of water. The water is cool and refreshing and  _ calm _ , and I find myself just floating on the surface. The serenity does not last long, and the water begins to pull at my sides. Quickly, quickly, they grow, and it gets harder and harder to take a breath in between the tumbling waves. The fear seems unusual- I’ve never really been scared of drowning- but it’s so much more terrifying than it had seemed. The light above dissipates into pure darkness, and I’m sure my breath will run out before I ever see it again. Instead, a hand reaches through the haze, bronze skin and a blue-gray sleeve. It pulls me out of the murky depths, and leads me to shore. The waves seem to apologize, lapping at my ankles like a kicked dog, and I almost feel sorry for them. I want to turn and talk to them, but the hand- this one feels like a  _ she _ -  pulls me along until I can’t even hear the waves anymore. _

_ My hand is empty and so are my surroundings- it’s nothing but plain, exposed rock as far as the eye can see. I stoop down, peering at the stone below me. It’s simple yet beautiful, blackish from afar but twinkling with a million different colors up close. For once, I think I’m safe- the surroundings are solid, stable. Of course, I am wrong. The rocks begin to jump about, gently at first, but higher and higher until I have no choice but to bound and duck about with them. The stones begin to fly, and one hurtles toward me, a glittering omen of death blocking the sun. A hand pulls me away, dark and strong as he leads me through the maze of flying stone. The way we move, it’s almost like we’re dancing across the jumping stones until the hand lets go and I’m flung up into the suddenly dark sky. _

_ Clouds roll in from nowhere, smokey and furious, but it’s not the clouds I’m afraid of. I can feel it, the electricity humming all around. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end. Sparks jump from cloud to cloud, like sharks circling their prey. All at once there are pale hands in mine and I’m swung around as a bolt crackles through the sky, almost close enough to touch. I don’t get the chance to thank him or play chicken with another bolt before I’m falling. _

_ Falling and falling with no end in sight, alone with the wind.  _ Wind,  _ it echoes through my mind like an ancient lullaby. I’m not scared of it, I never have been. I can feel it in my veins, my very blood and bones and  _ soul _. The wind is my friend, my family, my ally and my strength. The missing piece of a puzzle I didn’t know was incomplete until the picture stared me in the face. All around me I can see them, the ones who would care for me as sure as the wind in my veins. Family found in a flash of green and gold, a red straw hat, a scarlet ponytail, in a half a dozen hands reaching out and ready to take me where I need to be. I am home. _

 

The smell woke me, the overwhelming stink of rotting food and human waste. Three seconds into consciousness, I was one hundred percent ready to vomit. The only thing that kept me from a full-blown panic attack was the distinct lack of smoke in the air; it was clear that I wasn’t back  _ there, _ but the fact didn’t stop my head from buzzing.

“Hey,” A muddled voice spoke from somewhere above me spoke, “Hey, she’s waking up!” I pried my eyes open, and for a second I was worried that I had gone blind; the light was so dim it was almost pitch black in wherever-I-was. “Water! Get her some water!”

 I fluttered my eyes as they adjusted, dimly registering a few child-sized forms scuttling around in the darkness. Hands, child-size, gripped my shoulder and pulled me upright. Through the steady throb in my head, I could hear tapping and shuffling and a little  _ drip drip drip  _ in the corner of what had to be a holding cell.

“Here!” The same voice sounded again, and a wooden bowl suddenly scratched my chin and I had to fight back a flinch as the water tipped against my mouth. I took a small sip and had to hold off another flinch- the stale, mossy water reminded me too much of what we had to drink back in the mines. I forced myself to drink until I couldn’t anymore, and leaned my head back as the bowl was drawn away. My hands, I found, were far too heavy to lift- encased in some sort of stone manacles.

“Thank you,” I found my voice to be scratchy, yet viable. “Umm....”

“Andrea Crane” The voice called out, high and quick.

“Lucius Amano” A second voice, a bit lower. The names continued, another three children stuffed in a cell built for two. They all had names like jewels, Cassandra and Perseus and Tamiko ‘call-me-Tammy’. Curiously, everyone shared their surname as well as their first. I felt eyes on me.

“Dawn. Jones.” I couldn’t rightly call myself Carter, not after everything.  _  Besides, I don’t know Mr. Ronin’s last name, if he’d even have me. Jones’ the best one I got. Nice and generic. _

“Well, Jonesy, you must be quite something to earn those cuffs.” I felt a tap on my manacles, cold and heavy in my lap.  Cold like the ice, the anxiety, the  _ realization _ hitting me like a shot of liquid nitrogen straight to my heart. The wind in my veins- the wonderful flowing freedom pulsing under my skin- it had slowed to a crawl, barely noticeable. 

Vengestone. 

The story was still fresh in my mind, the stone and its effects on Elemental powers. 

“Yeah, I guess.” My voice came out shaky as if the words might tip over a cliff. I made a decision to conceal my identity.  _ Whoever grabbed me might be watching. I can’t give away any information. _

“So, who's turn was it? Tammy?” Lucius spoke up.

Tammy, the voice in the corner that spoke like the words were being squeezed out of it, started talking. A story, I realized, about her family and a picnic. It was a happy tale, full of smiles and sunshine and everything right with the world.  _ This is how they keep sane. Telling each other stories. How long have they been in here? Days, weeks? _

“Jonesy?” I nearly didn’t catch Andrea’s voice through my own thoughts. “You got a story?”

I cleared my throat, “Oh! Oh yeah, um… what about the time my-”  _ Bodyguard? Tutor? Personal electrician? Therapist? “ _ -my  _ friend _ taught me how to roller-skate?” A collection of affirmations spurred the words on, the fitting and the tripping and the feeling when I had finally started to skate without holding on to Mr. Jay’s sleeve. I chose my words like moves in a chess game, leaving out any mention of powers or ninjas. My heart ached as I spoke,  _ I wish Mr. Jay was here. He’d be able to check for any cameras. I wish anyone was here. _

We went on for a time, trading stories. Andrea worked with her parents at the local bakery. Lucius was apprenticed under his uncle, training to become a glassworker- he had been finishing his first major project when the Eyes had attacked. The rest were farming kids- their stories were simpler, splashing in a creek with friends and trips to the market and catching fireflies. Every once in awhile I’d hear a ‘Jonesy?’, and I’d have to fold another mountain into a molehill.

As far as the other kids knew, I lived in Ninjago City with my Pop, who owned an antique shop. I had two brothers, a sister, and several almost-siblings including; the girl working in the restaurant down the street, the engineer boy who lived in a junkyard with his parents, our half-adopted personal chef and his computer whiz girlfriend who ‘may or may not be robots’, and Cole.

“Cole?” A high, breathy voice- the one I remembered as Cassandra- parroted back.

“A little hard to explain,” I chuckled, thinking back. “He’s kinda like my personal bodyguard, whether I need guarding or not.”

“Sounds to me like you got  _ three  _ brothers, Jonesy.”

“Sounds about right,” and it did, it felt nice and good and  _ right _ . I wished nothing more in the world than to be with them, laughing and bickering and training so hard our bones creaked; I bet that just the sight of the Bounty would’ve brought tears to my eyes. 

A gasp sounded out, from the corner I remembered Tammy was in, followed by a little groan, “Cripes, it’s getting worse.”

I heard shuffling in the dark, most likely Andrea going over to Tammy’s corner to comfort her. Just as I predicted, I heard Andrea’s voice muttering from the corner; words of encouragement and hope where there were none to be found. She reminded me a bit of Mr. Cole- Cole- steady and stable, keeping everything from tipping over. I tuned into the words as they continued- reassurances of a meal yet to come, staying strong for parents and siblings just a few cells away.

_ Food _ , my stomach growled with renewed hunger at the thought. Time was untapped power in the cell, seldom a shadow betraying how long we had been held. Hours, at least. I shifted my wrist for what must have been the first time, and stars exploded in my eyes. I bit back a scream, resisting the urge to flinch away. Spikes, razor-sharp and unforgiving, hidden under thick stone. They tore at my wrists with the movement, and I could feel a sickening wetness begin to ebb at my sleeve.  _ Blood _ .

“Jonesy?” All of a sudden there were hands on my shoulders, my arms, my knees. Five sets of eyes bored into me from the darkness, and I tried my best to steady my voice. I closed my eyes, focusing. I took that pulsing, fluttering anxiety- I took it and pressed it, feeling it tighten in my chest until the cloud condensed. I pictured it in my mind; a billowing, smoky cloud of doom folding in on itself again and again until nothing remained but a small, perfect diamond- hard and cold and pure. When I spoke, my voice was perfectly level.

“I’m fine. Just a little light-headed.” 

As if on cue, a creaking sounded out from the thick walls. The effect was immediate, the hands left me and five forms scrambled back to press themselves against the walls, eager to stay as far away from whatever-it-was as possible. The creaking continued, louder and louder, and I forced myself to watch as a stripe of light burst into the room. The light grew larger, unnaturally white- artificial, not sunlight- and a figure stepped through the door. I heard breaths hitch from the corners and walls of the room as he stepped through- definitely a  _ he _ , based on shoe size. What could only be described as olive drab clown shoes shuffled under a thick black robe- the same uniform the guys in the square had been wearing. In his hands, he carried a bucket that smelled like some sort of porridge. Quietly, ever so quietly, I got to my feet.

He reached the center of the room, engulfed in his menial task. He didn’t even notice as I slunk across the floor, he obviously didn’t think anyone would even try to-

Fighting through the blinding pain, I swung. I was short for my age but tall enough as the manacles- ten pounds of solid, inky black, bona fide Vengestone connected with the hooded skull of whoever-he-was. 

“Run.” The word was out before the guy even hit the ground, crumpling in a heap of black cloth and ragged breathing. In the light, I could examine my manacles- no blood, good. The ‘control’ lessons were paying off. 

“Run!” I repeated, nudging the closest child- Perseus, the strikingly pretty gardener with a voice like springtime- up to his feet. He stumbled for a few paces, still in shock, before his feet took off and all of a sudden there were only five of us in the little cell.

Four.

Three.

Two.

I helped Andrea up to her feet and we took off after the others, through winding corridors that had to be some sort of catacombs based on the smell- too musty and damp not to be underground. I had half a mind to double back, find the rest of the townsfolk- my mind was made up for me when our group rounded a corner to find three Eyes playing cards in a chamber. We pushed on, spurred faster by the clamoring and shouting behind us. Left, right, right, left.

After what felt like years of running,  _ I finally _ heard the creek of a door ahead. Sunlight-  _ real  _ sunlight, warm and bright, was just ahead, shining through an open cellar door. So close,  _ so close.  _ Perseus went first, leaving only five children in the tunnels.

Four.

Three.

Two.

I heard the shuffling behind us get louder,  _ angrier _ , and something like inspiration struck me. I waited until Andrea hauled herself up, sparing a glance at me before turning around entirely, stooping and stretching out her hands.

“Hurry, Jonesy!”

I felt a laugh die in my throat, opting for a little smile I hoped looked confident.

“They’re in the forest, get help.”

Before she could stutter a question, I swung to the left. Ignoring the pain as the spikes tore up my wrists, I slammed the manacles into the wall at full force. Andrea fell back and I could only glance confusion and halfway horror before the cellar door swung closed.

_ One,  _ I thought as I turned and came face to face with an Eye, veiled and hulking as the rest of them. He carried no weapons, but he posed like a wrestler- like all he needed to overpower me was himself.  _ Then again, if that was true, why would he need to be flanked by  _ six  _ other Eyes? Insecure bullying type, easily flustered, not the true leader. Second-in-command, maybe? If children are important enough to warrant our own cell, it would take the head honcho’s word to pull my plug.  _ I smiled, halfway confident.

“Should we go after ‘em, Drake?”

Drake shook his head slightly and opened his mouth, but I answered for him. “Of course not, you only need one of me, don’t cha’? That’s why you’ve spent so much time keeping us under wraps. That’s why you went through the trouble of chasing us through the tunnels. You need a child for whatever backward, primeval,  _ insane _ ritual you think is going to bring back the Preeminent, of all things to worship.”

Through the veil, I could see half a dozen faces turn boiling red. Hands balled into fists and spears were gripped tighter. I continued, ticking off every possible way to push there guys’ buttons and buy a little more time. Ten more seconds and the kids would be out of town. Twenty, and they’d be in the woods where the Bounty was surely parked.

“I mean, even with a semi-invincible  _ ghost army _ , the Preeminent couldn’t even take over one measly realm! She was taken down by a half-drowned sixteen-year-old running on barely a week of training! Taken down by  _ water _ , can you believe it? The Great And Terrible Ghost Realm has all the strength and invincibility of a sugar cube!”

“You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” Drake’s voice was low and dangerous, but I kept my smile. He lumbered towards me like some sort of great hulking gorilla, and I filed the insult away for a later date. I had one thing left to say. I smiled.

 

“Ninja never quit.”

  
**_Impact._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had a vision of Ronin and Dawn singing 'I don't need anything but you' from Annie and now I gotta change the goddamn ending of the fic because I'm a sucker.
> 
> P.S. I'll give you 3 guesses who the next POV is. He's really smart, has a love for birds, and hasn't had a friggin break since season 1 (and he's not about to, muahaha)


	20. Hard Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ninja look for any information to lead them to Dawn. They find it. It's not good. (Zane's POV)

The Bounty had been quiet for days. 

Even with my audio turned all the way up, the only thing to hear was the rhythmic sets of footsteps that went from the upper deck to the sleeping quarters. One set going down, one set going up. They went like clockwork as I stirred the soup, unmoving in the kitchen as I prepared dinner. Footsteps sounded out, heavy and creaking. Under normal circumstances, I’d assume it was Cole’s. Unfortunately, everyone’s footsteps sounded like that- weighted and slow and so very tired. Nonetheless, footsteps creaked up to the top deck and out to the forest, continuing the search for the littlest ninja.

It had been nearly three days since the fight in the town square, and no-one was resting. It was like a switch had been pulled, and everything had changed in a moment. There was a hole in the ship, leaving empty space where a purple ray of light had once been. Every so often I’d turn to ask Dawn a question, or perhaps ask her to pass me something, sure that she would be sitting at the table and watching over my shoulder. Pixal would have to remind me, and my mood would drop once more.

Kai, usually all fire and fight, seemed drained; he didn’t talk, he didn’t eat, and he didn’t care for his appearance. Instead of just his usual golden sword, one sai glittered silver-white at his side. When I saw him in the hall, his hand ghosted over the purple grip, as if protecting it.

The other sai, I assumed, was in the possession of Cole. I could only assume, as I had not seen him since the beginning of the search. The only indication that he ever left off the search was the occasional hint of black fabric as it whisked around a corner.

At least I knew where Nya was; circling around the clearing where we were parked in a random series of swirls. The usually hyper-determined water ninja had become unfocused, wandering through the trees with a folded blueprint tucked above her heart. It was a motorcycle, she had said, or at least a plan for one. A gift for Dawn on her next birthday. It was already half-finished.

Jay, usually scared and fidgeting during capture situations instead grew angrier. Furious sparks flew from his hands, his head, his eyes as he stalked around the Bounty. He curled in on himself, tightening like a rubber band about to snap. A  _ crack _ sounded out from the surrounding forest, and within a second I was at the window, searching. My eyes landed on a starburst of white-and-blue electricity churning at ground level. As I watched, the tree was consumed by the flying sparks- reduced to icy blue ashes in a matter of minutes. My blue brother stalked off into the shadows, and I hoped against hope that he’d leave some trees for the forest.

_ Lloyd at five o’clock,  _ Pixal said for the back of my mind.

_ Thank you, darling,  _ I thought back as I spun to face-

“Holy…”

The word was out of my mouth before I could stop it. The last fifty hours had not been kind to the Green Ninja.  Hair a mess, clothes beyond stained with multicolored splotches of what I guessed to be energy drinks and candy, missing one shoe, and circles the size of dragons under his eyes-  _ terrible _ couldn’t begin to describe how bad Lloyd looked. In his hands, clutched so tightly they might be his lifeline, were several scrolls.

He chuckled tiredly, “Is it really that bad?”, and immediately tripped.

I ran to catch him, snagging the back of his gi just before he hit the ground. One of the scrolls unrolled as it bounced across the floor, and I saw a menacing black-and-green symbol of an eye at the bottom of the page.

“You’ve been studying the Eyes?” I helped Lloyd up to his feet, and he nodded. I went around the room picking up the fallen scrolls, and Lloyd spread them out on the table. He flinched when he bumped into Dawn’s chair, and gingerly pushed it back into its place.

“I miss her too,” I offered, setting cups down on the parchment to hold the corners down.

“Yeah, we all do.” Lloyd’s voice choked up at the end of his sentence, and I saw tears welling up in his eyes. He blinked them away and gripped the table.

“Master Wu and I found some info on the Eyes.” He tapped on the first scroll, a worn scrap of yellowed parchment that looked like a poster one might put on a lamppost. “Apparently, they’re a group that formed after the Preeminent was defeated.” Lloyd’s voice turned sharper. “They’re a bunch of nutjobs that think if they bring the Preeminent back, she’ll grant them eternal life.”

I put my hand on his shoulder, “Lloyd, this is valuable information. I’ll relay it to the others, maybe knowing the Eyes’ motivation will help reason with them-” I raised my hand to my radio piece, but Lloyd caught my hand before I could switch it on. The tears were back, welling in his eyes and threatening to spill.

“The ritual they use.” His voice shook, and the tears spilled. The next words would have been inaudible to anyone but me, and I wished that my audio was turned off- anything to keep from hearing it.

“They sacrifice a child for it,”

All of a sudden I was back in a nightmare, dark and tight and so very  _ cold _ . I couldn’t breathe and didn’t remember if I could. The thought of  _ Dawn _ and  _ sacrifice _ being in the same sentence was like a red-hot iron forced onto my heart. It took Pixal shouting into my earpiece to knock me back to the present, staring Lloyd in the face as we held onto each other.

A shout for help shattered the atmosphere, and in the blink of an eye, Lloyd and I were up on the top deck, watching Jay, Kai, Cole, and Nya sprint up to the ship, carrying something on each of their backs.  _ Someone,  _ I realized as they hauled their cargo up to the deck. 

A blonde boy with green eyes popped up first, along with Nya. 

“Perseus,” he coughed out, voice barely a whisper. Kai and a redheaded child named Andrea came up next, along with Jay and a tiny girl with oriental features who introduced herself as ‘Tamiko-call-me-Tammy’. Lloyd ran to get water as Cole hauled himself up, along with two children- a brunette boy with burn marks all over his hands and a girl wearing pitch-black braids that almost went to her knees.

“Lucius,” the boy offered me a hand and I shook it. He gestured to the girl, “she’s Cassandra.”

“Zane,” I said, grabbing two cups of water off of the tray Lloyd suddenly held and offering them to the children.

“ _ Zane? _ ” Andrea shouted from the other side of the deck, sending my teammates reeling. “You mean  _ you’re _ Jonesy’s bro?” My jaw dropped in shock as she whipped around, pointing at each of the ninjas in turn.

“Okay-okay,  _ you’ve _ gotta be Kai, there’s no-one else that could possibly wear that much red. Holy cow, are you  _ Cole _ ? She was right, you really  _ are  _ a mountain. Jay’s gotta be the skinny one- rollerskates, right?- and that makes you Nya. Holy cow, you must be Lloyd! You look terrible!” She turned to me, face suddenly serious and water forgotten. “Where’s Mr. Jones? We should tell him as soon as possible.”

“Mr. Jones?” Jay parroted, beating me to the punch.

“Dawn’s pop?” Lucius piped up, setting his empty water down. “Eyepatch? Antiquer? May or may not have killed a man? Anything ringin’ a bell? More water please?” 

“Ronin,” Nya breathed, hand ghosting over her cell phone pocket. “I called him- he should be here soon.”

We nodded and set to work. The children got refills and several questions to answer. 

“They invaded in the middle of the day,” said Cassandra.

“Corralled us into groups,” Lucius added with a sharp edge in his voice.

“Everyone below five and above ten went to another cell,” Perseus said, clutching his heart.

“I miss my momma,” tiny Tammy could barely sputter, keeping a firm grip on Jay’s sleeve.

“Jonesy stayed behind so we could get away,” Andrea said, refusing to make eye contact.

In the corner of the room, I could see two hands moving. Black and red, ghosting over the purple-handled sai fastened to their respective belts. The information was helping, it was obvious. I could see the fire sparking in Kai’s eyes, and the master of Earth stood steadily more tall with each and every word.

_ Ronin, Skylor, Neuro, Tox.  _ Pixal suddenly spoke in my mind.  _ Six o'clock. _

I turned and came face-to-face with the most bedraggled version of Ronin I had ever seen, flanked by the equally exhausted-looking masters of Amber, Mind, and Poison. He jammed his red straw hat down over his wind-whipped hair and stared straight into my soul.

“Where’s my kid?”

The words were unusual, and yet totally expected. Dawn had relayed to the children that Ronin was her father, so why shouldn’t he think the same?  _ Maybe because you want to keep her?  _ I buried the thought as a shout rang out behind me.

“The church!”

Every eye in the room glued itself to the speaker, the tiny girl still attached to Jay’s sleeve.

“I saw it as we ran away! The cells were the catacombs! She’s in the church!”

_ Church. _

I traded glances with Lloyd. He knew exactly what I was thinking.

“They need an altar.”

Telling the team was less than enjoyable. We wasted valuable time calming everyone down after each piece of information, be it one of the children or Kai or Ronin or even Neuro, the usually stoic Master of Mind coming half-unhinged when the Eyes’ plan came into light.

The Eyes operated on the lunar calendar, judging from the talk overheard by the children. The most important date and time for them would be midnight on the night of the full moon, which- according to Pixal’s search-  conveniently would occur in just a few short hours. There, they would prepare a sacrifice of a child ranging from five to ten years old- still young and pure enough to be offered, but old enough to fit on the altar. A ceremony would be conducted to open a portal and bring some semblance of the Preeminent through, and there-

“The Preeminent will consume the sacrifice,” my voice sounded like a nail on a chalkboard as I forced the word out, “and become whole again.”

Silence filled the room, information churning its way through our heads. I pictured Dawn, little Dawn, sweet Dawn, forced down into a dark room with nothing but the thought of those she had liberated to keep her company.

“They’ll never get the chance.”

Eyes went to Lloyd, golden-haired and iron-eyed as he stared into the distance. “Tox, stay back with the kids and protect the Bounty.”

“But-”

“Protect the kids,” Lloyd rephrased in a sudden and sharp voice, “And  _ take care _ of anyone who tries you.”

The Master of Poison grinned sharply and saluted. She turned and whisked out of the room with a gaggle of children in tow. I noticed Ronin tense. 

“If you think I’m gonna stay behind-”

“None of us would ever ask you to do that, Ronin.” The Green Ninja stood taller with each word. “I think Master Wu and Tox can take care of anything these guys can throw at them. Besides, why would I keep a father from his kid?”

The words were shockingly natural, no-one even shifted at them.

“We’ve only got a couple of hours, so be quick.”

One after another, my friends left. Kai and Cole shuffled our guests out of the room, no doubt to pick up an extra pair of sai from the armory. Nya and Jay went next, lightning and water turning together toward the living quarters. They would be packing blankets and scarves, and an extra pair of gloves because  _ a little someone always has cold hands _ . Lloyd gave me a smile and turned to follow the second party. I heard his footsteps taking a sharp turn toward the training room, perhaps setting up the next obstacle course. I turned and walked back to the kitchen.

_ I don’t understand,  _ Pixal spoke in my ear.  _ Why are they not preparing for the mission? _

“We are, my dear,” I replied aloud, stirring the pot on the stove. Thankfully, nothing on the bottom had burned. I poured more broth into the pot- it needed to cook down more.

“We need to prepare for when Dawn gets back,” I said, sprinkling spices into the pot.

_ With all due respect, that makes even less sense. _

“We  _ will _ get her back,” the words were steady, confident. Absolute fact. “Or we will die trying.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dudes and dears, I wholeheartedly apologize for any Ooc moments and/or messed up tenses. School is killing me, but I still want to keep writing. Thanks for your support and ch 21 should be out by the end of next week. :)


	21. Nothing Else To Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nya's POV

I couldn’t say what drove me to Dawn’s room, but I left Jay in the common room and headed for the smallest ninja’s quarters. On the door was a swirling purple cyclone- the symbol for Wind, probably painted by Cole. Curiously, there was no creak as the door opened. The doors on the Bounty always creaked, the only way to avoid it was meticulously oiling the hinges, at least once a week. _I guess Dawn likes to move quietly. A good trait to have for a ninja._ I pushed the thought aside and stepped in. 

I didn’t know what to expect, but _immaculate_ was the farthest word from my mind before seeing how Dawn kept her things. Everything in the tiny room was orderly; bed covers folded neatly, her teddy bear propped up on the perfectly fluffed singular pillow. I turned to face her desk: an organized group of photos, a stack of writing paper, and exactly three perfectly straight pens. I glanced in her closet; every piece of clothing she owned had been washed, ironed, coded by type and color, and either hung up or tucked neatly into drawers. Her marbles were all tucked neatly into their sack and hung on the inner door-handle. Besides a thin film of dust on the furniture- she’d always hated sweeping and dusting, _that_ I knew- the room was obnoxiously clean. There was nothing else to do.

“Nya?”

Jay stood at the doorway, a hand on the frame while the other one clutching at his chest. The panic in his eyes was obvious even from five feet away, a strange comfort after the furious sparks in the days after Dawn’s capture. _Capture_ echoed my head, and I dug my fingernails into my hand.

“Just having a look around, y’know? Before the mission.” My voice was shaky, and I dug the nails deeper into my skin. I fluttered my eyes, trying to blink away any tears that might pop up. 

“Oh man, this place is spotless.” Jay took a tentative step forward, before joining me in the center of the room. His head tilted around curiously, bright blue eyes washing over every inch of the room. His hand slipped into mine, and I looked down to watch it. I loved it, the way his pale hand fit into mine like two sides of a locket. In his other hand, the one that still hadn’t left his heart, a carefully crocheted scarf. Purple- made for Dawn.

“You make that yourself?”

Jay’s eyes broke off from searching and looked down at his hand.

“Oh, yeah.” He held it up to the light, and I spotted little strands of gold interwoven with the violet. “Was supposed to be a present. Not as cool as a motorbike, though.”

I chuckled, remembering the half-finished mech sitting in the garage in the Samurai X cave; purple and black and silver, with all-terrain wheels, a built-in hang glider, and several tracking devices slipped into the machine- just in case.

“At least we know she likes scarves.” I waved my hand around the room. “I don’t even know if she can ride a bike! You woulda thought a little girl would have posters or something, but nope! Nothing!”

Jay stayed quiet for just a moment, then I felt movement behind me. I turned and spotted Jay’s butt sticking out from under Dawn’s bed.

“What are you doing?” I said, genuinely confused.

“Looking for Dawn’s stuff.”

“What reason could a little kid possibly have to hide stuff under her bed?” I grabbed Jay’s feet and pulled, sliding him out along with whatever was in his arms.

He turned over, a triumphant smile on his face and showing me a black-and-tan box. 

“Ha! You’ve never had to hide something from your parents.”

I crouched down, peering at the box. No bigger than your average lunchbox clamped shut at the front with a simple four-number lock, like something off of a school locker.

“Cripes, where did she get this?”

“Probably found it in storage or something.” I ran my hand over the top of the box, pulling it away clean. “No dust- must’ve been used often.”

Jay pulled the lock towards him and started clicking numbers into the lock.

“1..2..3..4..nothin’. 4..3..2..1..nothin’.”

“Have you tried her birthday?” I said despite myself. _Come on Nya, just walk away._

“0..6..2..0..nothin’.”

_That’s her business, you should leave it alone._

“0..4..0..4-” The sound stopped as the little lock gave way with a click, and adrenaline rushed through my veins. It was always exciting to learn a secret, but even more so when you had to work for it.

“How’d you know the combination?” I breathed as Jay untangled the lock from the hinges.

“I started thinkin’ about important dates. April 4 is the day we met Dawn, up on the roof of Ronin’s building.” Jay said simply, and before I could speak he creaked the little box open.

The first thing that struck me was a melody. A muffled tune started playing from the box- probably hidden within the base. Just a little lullaby, recognizable by any child anywhere. My parents had taught it to Kai, who in turn taught it to me. I could still hear the lyrics, evidence of three thousand and one nights being tucked into bed, my brother’s voice wheezy and tired from earning our living.

_I sing a lit-tle song of a heart so ve-ry low,_

_On-ly Earth a-rum-bling can feel it in it’s flow._

_I sing a song of Light-ning, so pow-er-ful and strange,_

_Cre-a-ting smiles and jum-ping miles with ev’ry lit-tle change._

_I sing a song of Fi-re, a-burn-ing through the Ice,_

_I sing a song of Wa-ter a-growing fresh Green life,_

_I sing a song of love, I sing a song of doubt,_

_I sing a song of ev’rything there is to sing about._

 

There were supposedly three or four more verses, but Kai- and by extension, I- only knew the first. I wondered how many different elements the song included. _Is Mind in there? Or Amber, or Speed, or Poison? Form, Metal, Smoke, Shadow? What about Wind?_ I made a mental note to learn the rest of the song, at least Wind’s verse. _Dawn’s verse._ I doubted she even knew the lyrics.

“Check this out!”

My attention snapped to Jay. His face was lit up like it hadn’t been in days, and I got that sudden silly urge to kiss him I could never quite predict. In his hand, glittering in the artificial light, was a stone- one I had never seen before. A pink center veined out into glass-bottle green, ringed with an almost translucent white.

“Tourmaline,” Jay said, and I again had to stop myself from leaning over and kissing his forehead. _Not the time, Nya._ “Where do you think she got it from?”

“Kozan was a mining village,” I thought back to the dark, smoky town with its half-baked street signs and crumbling buildings. “Maybe she got it from the mines.”

“One of the only good things that came out of that place,” and Jay set the stone aside and dug deeper into the box. “It’s just papers the rest of the way down.”

“Well, we don’t have time to read them.” I forced myself to shut off my curiosity and turn away from the box, heading to the closet. I pocketed a pair of hand-me-down gloves and tied the marble sack to my belt- they would come in handy once we got Dawn back.

“Here’s the letter from Lil’ Nelson,” I heard Jay say from behind me, “And here are some letters from Ronin. Jeez, she keeps everything!”

“Jay, do you think this is a good idea?” I turned back to him after a moment to find my sweetheart holding a sort of a book. A diary; plain black binding and a shining silver key-lock, not even a sticker betraying its contents.

“Yeah,” Jay’s voice was sobering, drawing me back from the hunt for secrets. “We should stop.” He carefully packed up the boxes’ contents from bottom to top; journal, papers, rock. The lid closed with a hesitant snap, and the music died. I picked the lock up from the floor and returned it to its rightful place, snapped tight around the hinges of the Bounty’s former best-kept secret. We’d have to apologize if we got Dawn back.

 _When_ the voice in my head whispered. **_When_ ** _you get Dawn back. You have to believe it’s ‘when’._

Not a moment after the box slid back into hiding, there was a knock at the door. Five short equally spaced raps.

“Anyone in there?” Zane’s voice asked through the door.

“Just packing a few things!” I double-checked the knot holding the marbles in place, and followed Jay out the door. Zane quirked an eyebrow but stayed thankfully silent.

 

The sun had set, the moon had risen. There was no debriefing. There was no map. We all knew where to go. Zane and Neuro held the ends of the scattered line of heroes, scanning for anything that looks or thinks like a human. Jay’s hand slipped into mine and I held it loosely; easy to break just in case-

Zane turned and mouthed ‘Two’. Instantly, the forest floor went from nine inhabitants to none, and then to two. A pair of forms, piles of green and black cloth, stumbled loudly from the left of where our group had been.

“If we’re late,” said the Eye on the left, “Master DuFranc is going to kill us!”

“Of course not,” said the other- higher, female, “He’s going to have Drake kill us.”

Apparently, the mention of the ‘Drake’ guy was terrifying, and the two took off with double the speed. Without a moment’s rest, we followed- silent in the trees. Even Ronin managed to keep up, which either meant he was _that_ good or we were all _that_ bad. The mystery was solved when Lloyd snagged a branch and missed a perch. Ronin- straw hat and all- landed on his branch, changed the direction of his momentum, leaped backward, hooked his legs on the branch, caught the falling Lloyd _with one hand,_ then pulled a sit-up and plopped the Green Ninja down on the branch before taking off and following the group. The whole thing took five seconds.

Lloyd and I shared a _very_ confused look before following the rest of the group. Shooting through the green, I finally got a look at the forest itself. For days I had been wandering, looking for something to snap me into action, but I had never really seen anything. A dozen shades of green dappled with silver moonlight and woodsy brown stripes. The forest floor was a mess of colors- dead, dry tan intermingled with whites and pinks and the occasional sunburst of red and orange where flowers had sprung up.

_Dawn would like this._

The thought was jarring, and I nearly slipped off my branch.

 _She likes the forest, remember?_ The train of thought flew off its tracks, and I found myself frozen. Jay’s voice murmured in the distance, maybe my name, but it was all I could do to stand as the thoughts took over.

_She likes the forest, she likes trees. She climbs trees, easy easy easy as a squirrel. Flowers, remember flowers? She likes flowers and flower crowns and counting the petals off like a schoolgirl a girl she’s just a little girl! Just a little girl and they’re going to kill her kill her kill her and flowers will sprout on her grave and you’ll never get to apologize never never nev-_

Pressure on my shoulders suddenly curled in on themselves- hands, when did hands get on my shoulders?

“Nya,” Ronin’s voice said, urgent. “Snap back for me, kid.”

I did. All of a sudden the thoughts were just wind in my head, making me woozy. 

“I-I’m sorry,” I said, voice wavering with my unstable stance, “I just-”

“I get it.” He adjusted his hat with one hand, careful to keep some sort of grip on me. “I need you to stay with us, alright? We gotta keep our minds on the mission.”

I forced myself to nod, digging my fingers into my hand to keep myself grounded. I spared half a thought to Dawn and those nervous little nail-pricks that riddled her jawline before digging my own fingernails deeper into my hand and launching off the branch. The Eyes had been worried about being late. _We’re running out of time._

The forest broke and my heart dropped. We found ourselves at the very edge of a hill, the town sprawled out below us. At the base of the hill, almost a 90-degree angle down was the church- a sweet little building like something out of a postcard, white and gray with a big yellow bell in the steeple.

Surrounded, completely and utterly _surrounded_ by Eyes. 

Scores of them, hundreds of them, standing in perfectly proportioned arcs around the church. I could see them all; adjusting their sashes just so, shuffling to keep in line, watching the building with anticipation. None of them saw us- they were busy watching the front doors.

“Three hundred and sixty,” Zane said quietly, his eyes glowing sharply in the pale moonlight. Three hundred and sixty more obstacles between us and Dawn. I narrowed my eyes at the little building, catching sight of the big windows making gaps between the shingles. Skylights. Perfect.

We picked our way down the cliff, skirting onto the roof. The darkness weighed on me, an odd feeling. _Ninja work in the shadows, we live in the dark. Why does it feel so wrong now?_

 _Your shadow is missing,_ the buzzy part of my brain whispered. _Your little purple shadow._

I forced the thought into the back of my head and shuffled into line at the windows, ignoring the ache in my chest. My hand brushed against Jay’s and our fingers intertwined without a second thought.

“Where is she?” Skylor’s voice said somewhere to my right. I looked down into the church; empty, straight-backed pews; torches burning an eerie green, and an altar flanked by two unhooded Eyes. The one on the left stood tall, stoic- and unhooded, I could see his face in the light of the torches. Dark, wavy, chin-length hair framed a matching beard and sharp features. His eyes seemed to burn into anything he looked at. The face of a monster.

I gripped my spear tighter.

The one on the left, I was less concerned about. Hulking, muscular, but clearly just the second-in-command. His face was moonish, wisps of blond hair plastered down onto a round head. A vacantly angry expression adorned his face- waiting for an order. _That must be Drake._

“Bring forth the sacrifice!” DuFranc called out suddenly, and the doors to the chapel swung open.

There.

I heard gasps from all sides of me.

There, flanked by three Eyes, was the all too small Purple Ninja.

In the glow of the torches, I could see her hair had been cut; the waves only met her chin now, and the fringes were longer in front than in the back- like it had been tied back in a ponytail and hacked off. She was still wearing her gi, a good sign but why didn’t she fight? There were only five of them in there.

The answer came when the four of them reached the altar, and the three Eyes stepped back. Glistening a sickening black in the light, were Vengestone manacles.

To the right of me, Zane and Kai worked at the glass. It was thick, and they needed to work slowly to avoid detection- if the Eyes saw us, Dawn could be dead before we got to her.

I returned my eyes to the scene below and almost screamed.

Dawn, little Dawn, _our Dawn,_ was climbing up onto the altar.

She sat there for a moment, glancing back at DuFranc. His face was twisted up into a sickening smile. Dawn’s head bobbed like it did when she was asking a question, and I could read DuFranc’s lips as he answered:

_Yes, child. They will all be released afterward. Unharmed._

My heart caught in my throat. How could I have forgotten about the other townspeople? As I watched, Dawn laid down on the altar, spreading her limbs to the four corners of the table. DuFranc started reading from a strange book. Drake turned away to bark orders at the three other Eyes.

Dawn looked up at me.

I could feel a sob building in my chest. The boys were working fast but it wouldn’t be fast enough. We wouldn’t be fast enough. I forced myself to look at Dawn and caught her mouthing something. To me, then to Jay and Ronin and Skylor and the entire line of heroes knowing that no matter how much fire and fight we had, there was nothing to be done.

Over and over again, from a face that betrayed no fear.

Over and over

And over

And over

And I still couldn’t believe it.

_“It’s okay.”_

The clock struck midnight.

The portal opened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y'all want a clearer picture, I modeled DuFranc after Charles Manson and Drake after John Wayne Gacy.


	22. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn's POV

I was cold. I forced myself to be cold. Any fear, any doubt, any regret, any hope for an escape was washed away by the cold deep in my bones as I laid down on the altar. DuFranc looked down on me, face full of scars and eyes full of burning hell, flickering in the light of the curious green torches.  _ Barium,  _ I forced myself to focus on the word, remembering the lessons crammed into my head at the excuse of a school I had attended barely half a year ago. It felt like a bad dream, a seven-year haze before waking up into bright days and smiling faces.

They were going to be okay, all of them. I was doing the right thing, the only thing. The clock on the wall had read 11:58 when the three Eyes had taken me from the cell, jostling my spiked manacles all the way. It had been much colder without the other children, without their stories. I took the cold- the bitter, dry freeze that stuck to the skin on my newly exposed neck- and I harnessed it. I would not let them see fear. There was only cold in me as I waited for DuFranc to finish his speech, the booming words making only halfway sense. The Preeminent would be defeated again, sure as there were stars in the sky. The Eyes would be defeated, the town would be safe, happily ever after for everyone else. I just had to wait. I ignored the pseudo-Latin chanting and turned my head toward the-

_ No oh no oh no this isn’t supposed to happen _

There they were, in a line, looking down. Cole and Zane and Lloyd and- everyone.

Ronin.

The thoughts ripped their way through the cold and it was all I could do to keep my face straight. I looked up at them, my friends, my  _ family,  _ and I knew they were going to be too late. Fire worked as fast as fire could. I could see the desperation on Kai’s face. He was trying so hard.

The glass was too thick. The words were too fast. The clock was 11:59.

‘It’s okay,’ I forced myself to mouth silently, again and again up at them, begging for them to turn away. There were so many words to use. Eyes widened in horror, and palms pressed against the thick glass.

_ I’m sorry it has to be this way, but there’s no other choice. I know this, and I’m fully prepared to make the sacrifice. Please, please turn away. I can’t bear to let you watch. Please, please, I love you so much, don’t do this to yourselves.  Please. Please. I love you. Please. _

But all I could muster was  _ it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay. _

The clock struck midnight.

The portal opened. 

I tore my eyes away from my family and focused on the swirling vortex, glowing the same fluorescent green as the torches.  _ If that thing is going to kill me,  _ the fire in my chest said,  _ It’s going to have to look me in the eye as it happens. _

A green, glowing form slipped through, more stumbling than anything else. Small, too small. Too familiar. 

“My lady?” I heard DuFranc’s voice stutter, the booming replaced with an unsure whimper.

The form shuffled to his feet.  _ Why do I know it’s a ‘he’? _ The portal swirled in on itself, closing with an almost comical ‘pop’. The form’s green light dimmed into a steady glow, a neon almost matching the green stripe in his hair.

I squeaked in alarm, unbelieving and still certain of my imminent demise. The form straightened, and black hair parted to reveal a severe face and eyes so dark I couldn’t see the pupils. The eyes darted about the room, like a wild animal unsure of where to run.

Like looking into a mirror.

“ _ Dawn?” _

I felt my face split into a smile. Above me, I felt the whistle of a falling blade, but it didn’t matter. With a twitch of his hand, my Uncle Morro sent the Eyes all careening into the walls with a series of ‘thumps’. Within a moment my manacles had been snapped off by ghostly strength, and I could once again feel the wind rushing through my veins.

“Dawn, are you alright?” Uncle pulled me up into a sitting position, and I nodded, my smile too big for words. He gave me a small hug, a relieved hug, and studied my face for something I couldn’t place. Fear, perhaps, or maybe a concussion. The icy sound of shattering glass sounded behind me, and I didn’t have to turn around to know exactly who hit the ground first. I turned anyway and came face to face with everyone else who had ever cared about me (plus some weird man in a gray suit, but I didn’t worry about him).

“Kid,” Ronin started, voice and eye obscuring themselves with tears.

“Hi, Dad.” I found myself saying, and the word came to life as soon as it hit the air. I felt myself being pulled into a hug, tight and getting tighter with every second. I could smell coffee, and metal, and leather, and wildflowers, and everything that wasn’t smoke or butterscotch. 

_ Like home. _

I was so distracted by the warmth of the arms around me, the warmth in my chest, the wonderful cozy feeling of finally knowing what home felt like. 

It took a moment to register the sickening stickiness soaking through my sleeves. 

It only took a moment longer for Ronin to notice. The hug broke, and all I could see was a rainbow of concerned faces. The flow continued, the pain spiked through my wrists, and concern snapped into a panic.

“Blood!” Jay spoke first, the word washing through my family like an icy wave. Even Uncle Morro crowded around the table, fear striking across his face. All of a sudden my head was too light and my vision danced, the only constant, in reality, was the bubbling red crawling up my purple sleeves. Fast, too fast.

“Manacles,” I managed to say, squeezing my eyes into a squint to keep my concentration. “Kinda forgot.” Through the waves in my vision, I could see Nya examining the broken shards of my cuffs. 

She turned one over. She saw the spikes. I heard a gasp, then another and another and there were hands on my shoulders  _ when were hands put on my shoulders? _ Muddled voices swam around me. I saw silver and smelled metal, metal and disinfectant like the med tent back in the mines and-

Pain! So much pain! My vision went white and every nerve in my arms lit up like a coal-fire, and it was all I could do to keep ahold of the warm, gloved hands nestled in mine.

_ Coffee,  _ I told myself.  _ Wildflowers. Leather. Home. Love. Family. _

All at once, everything wavered back into view. Burgundy-stained sleeves had been rolled back, revealing fresh, tight bandages. I found myself with only four bodyguards; Kai and Cole and Uncle Morro and Dad- the word still made me giddy- all in a loose ring around the altar. The rest, in neat windows with my personal guard, barricaded the door.

“We need to get her out of here!” Lloyd shouted, straining against the weight of three hundred men. 

I pushed off the altar, barely making a whisper as I landed on the smooth stone floor. 

The wind was back in my veins, and I wasn’t about to run again.

Not now.

Not ever.

“Dawn,” Kai must have recognized the look in my eyes. He spoke calmly, halfway like a lullaby, “You just nearly passed out. You’re hurt. You need to-”

“I’m not going to run.” Eyes were on me, every pair and a singular, watching my every move. I tugged on the knots holding the gauze to my tattered wrists- nice and tight.  “I’m not going to leave you.” I pushed past curtains of Black and Red, bringing myself to the middle of the chapel. The doors creaked under the weight of an entire army. The clock was at 00:10. I closed my eyes.

The air whistled around me, picking up speed and debris as it went. Rocks and candleholders, splinters of pews. The marble bag around Nya’s waist emptied itself into my personal tornado, black and gray and brown swirling into a singular force.

For a split second, the wind slowed. When it kicked back up again, I wasn’t alone in my cyclone. Swirls of color pushed in on my vision from every angle, bright Red pressing in opposite from a ghostly greenish-yellow, golden accents webbing through a family with a dozen last names.

“Faster,” Uncle’s voice goaded, and I did. The wind whistled through my veins and I felt my heart pumping with the rhythm of the cyclone, a simple gray blur blowing itself to new heights every second.

“ _ Kai, Cole, Skylor, Neuro!”  _ Lloyd screamed over the wind, so close but so quiet under my power. “ _ Take the Left!” _

The three of them nodded, and set themselves to face the proper direction. The doors screamed under the pressure from outside, joining the noise in the room. Jay, Zane, and Nya set with Lloyd to the right. Uncle and Dad were ordered to ‘flank the kid’, and I didn’t have to ask who he meant.

“ _ Dawn! _ ” Lloyd bellowed- his top volume barely a whisper in the wind. “ _ Pendulum!” _

I cracked a smile before howling out a “Yessir!” of my own. I loved the word, and even more so the strategy behind it. I hear somebody shout ‘ _ Ten! _ , and the countdown began. 

Ten-missi-sippi

Nine-missi-sippi

Eight-missi-sippi

A silly way of keeping time taught on a sunlit rooftop waiting for my new life to begin. Sixty-missi-sippis for panic attacks, thirty-missi-sippis for hide-n-seek, and ten-missi-sippis for Pendulum.

The clock struck 00:25.

The doors opened.

And the dogs of war were slipped.

Eight different colors slipped through my wind in eight different directions, bringing chaos with them. Through the gray haze of wind around me, the elements danced through the enemy ranks. White and red, blue and black, orange and gray and green wreaking havoc on all who dared to oppose them. Waves upon waves of black fabric surged forward, striking against my cyclone and falling back, again, and again, and again. Screams rang out ten at a time, and my tornado rapidly lost its debris; marbles shattered against skulls, pieces of pews and torches and buried themselves into arms, into legs, into eyes if they were unlucky.

If they were  _ really  _ unlucky, they got to the center of the cyclone.

I had no trouble multitasking; I could keep up the wind, run, and defend myself from any intruders at the same time. The protection flankers were just an added bonus. Demonic screams sounded out at my left and right, and I wasn’t sure if it was the Eyes or their attackers- fright and fury in turn muddled by the gale around us. An Eye popped into my vision, double my size and triple my weight- he went down quickly when the butt of my sai connected with his forehead. The second sai joined its twin in open air, flashing silver in the night as Eye after Eye went down. We surged first to the left, taking out 20, 40, 50 Eyes all on our own.

“Great job, kid!” And I smiled up at my Dad- the word a shot of happiness all on its own.  _ Not father, Dad.  _ Simple and sweet, the word was another piece in the puzzle that was my family. An Uncle, five Brothers, three Sisters (counting Pixal and Skylor, of course) and Dad. Bigger than most and perfectly strange. I threw a harried wave at Lloyd, and turned to head in the opposite direction. Uncle and Dad followed me, kicking one last Eye at the far left before sprinting to join the other team at the far end of the battlefield.

Left and right and left again, a deadly back-and-forth, a pendulum of destruction.

Fifty felled in fifty minutes, and their ranks began to break. At the edges of my vision, Eyes- dozens of them, scores of them- all running for the hills. The Bounty would be safe- fight and flight are mutually exclusive when battling superpowered ninjas.

For hours, we fought.

For hours, they fell.

At the end of the hours, when all the black fabric was gone from my vision, when the sun rose bright on a newly liberated town, when my heartbeat finally,  _ finally  _ slowed.

When the locks were destroyed, and the townspeople smiled back at the sun for the first time in weeks.

When arms- white and red, blue and black, orange and gray and green and glowing and armored all wrapped around be in turn and told me  _ you did it you did it you did it. _

That was the first time I believed it.

I really and  _ truly  _ believed it.

_ I did it I did it I did it. _

_ I belong I belong I belong. _

_ I’m safe  _

_ I’m safe _

_ I’m safe _

And the dawn rose anew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't get too comfy, there are still two more chapters left in the works.


	23. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry guys, it's been forever since I updated this thing. School's been just kicking my butt, and I've hit a writer's block the size of Wyoming. Thankfully, I've busted through it with a handy trick: I'm only allowed to have 3 fics in progress at one time. If I want to write the 3below fic I'm planning, I have to get this done first. So, here it is!

The study was always my favorite place in the house.

No accounting for taste, though- the wide red-and-blue stripes were always too abrasive to stay in the little room too long. Nonetheless, I needed to be alone, and nobody was ever in the study when Mom was gone. 

Not the babysitter, with her screaming and rotten-flower stink.

Not the turtle, still in his tank in the corner of the living room.

Not even Dad. I didn’t know where he was. I hadn’t for a long time, and I didn’t care.

I needed quiet.

After what happened- the screaming and the throwing and the yelling. So much yelling. It was so loud. I’m just a kid. 

I had just wanted to fly my kite. I needed to think. I needed quiet.

I took a seat on the couch- a merciful off-white- and twiddled my thumbs, checking off objects in the room as time ticked by. There were the usual bookshelves of fairy tales and histories, old covers fading into soft leather a little more each day. The desk sat in the corner, a dozen different half-finished novels scattered across its surface. Mom always had a way with words- I’d tried, but mine came out clunky. Unpolished. She’d always smile and say I just needed more practice and then turn around and spin a masterpiece out of nothing.  _ She’s had a lot of practice. _

My focus turned to the special shelf, full of photo albums. On each spine, in Mom’s neat handwriting, was a year or an occasion. The seconds tick-tocked into minutes, and I reluctantly grabbed a random album and cracked it open. I started at the first page. One thought at a time, Ro.

Mom was in the picture, beaming in a frilly dress and hair-ribbons in her signature color. Beside her, Grandpa posed mid-laugh in a suit and tie with matching eyepatch. Under the picture, in perfect letters, ‘Adoption Day!’ was printed. She must’ve been nine, maybe ten when this was taken. I smiled, and turned the page.

The smile turned into a laugh at the next photo; a lineup of all my Uncles in hairbows and makeup, ‘April Fools Makeover!’ proudly displayed below it.

Uncle Jay stood short and proud in the center, sporting pigtails, and loud blue lipstick. Uncle Kai tried to hide behind him, face covered in glitter. Uncle Zane and Uncle Cole hid at the sides of the frame, matching each other in eyeliner and embarrassment. Uncle Lloyd laughed in his lime green eyeshadow and ribboned ponytail, clutching his stomach and nearly doubled over. A little pang of second-hand regret hit me, the words still clear from the  _ last  _ time Uncle Lloyd had been brought up.

_ Aren’t you worried?  _ Uncle Jay had pleaded over Sunday dinner,  _ He hasn’t done more than send the occasional letter since he left! _

_ He’ll come out on his own time,  _ Mom had said, calm as she always was.  _ I did, remember? We just need to give it time. _

Then came an inside joke about sleeping on the roof, and I’d returned to my dinner.

I flipped through the pages, watching a year go by in a few minutes' time.

I grabbed the next album and the next after that. Finally, I got sick of the trips to and from the shelf and just grabbed a whole armful of memories. More than a decade flipped by- thirteen, maybe fourteen years? I studied a snapshot of a doorframe in Grandpa’s shop, with little marks for every year of Mom’s life. I counted all the tick marks. Twenty-five, exactly. The date in the corner proved the picture only a few months old. The ticks only started at year 8, that was the only explanation. Just like everything else. I never asked why Mom’s life always started with year 8. 

I guess I was never one for too many questions, I just had a few. Of course, I stopped asking where Dad went years ago. Nobody knew, and nobody cared. Being a ninja paid well enough. But…

Where did the powers come from, and where did hers go?

I guess I answered that last one myself. 

There was a sort of emptiness in my chest- not like Mom’s, no. Mom’s was worse, with the panic attacks and the triggers and the waking up in the middle of the night trying not to scream because she doesn’t want to wake me. Still, I hated it when the neighbors started yelling. They were always too loud. Mom’s never too loud.  _ I miss her. So much. _ She came home as much as she could, stealing moments between saving the world. Phone calls were used liberally between visits, and I can’t remember a day where I didn’t hear her voice.

I decided to focus on the next page. The laminated page was smooth and light in my hand, turning with a funny sound. It slid from one side to the next easily, smoothly.

I...made a mistake. The page was a mistake. The picture was a mistake.

The page was all one picture, a huge color one. Stark surroundings, white and- what was the word Mom liked to use in hospitals?-  _ severe.  _ There she was, smiling and bedraggled and holding a tiny tan blob smothered in a matching blanket and hat, both a soft baby blue. Of course, blue wasn’t really my color. I like purple better. 

The mistake was standing just to the left of Mom and me, smiling as if he’d stick around. Blonde hair, green eyes, light skin- nothing like me at all. A small mercy. Mom never told me that I looked like him, it would be useless to anyway. She always said I looked like my great-uncle instead. I’d never met him, and she’d only met him once or twice, but I could always know the comparison was a compliment. She always spoke so highly of him, equal to any of my Uncles or Aunts or even Grandpa.  I didn’t have to ask what happened to him- we visited his grave every year on the Day of the Departed.

_ The picture. Focus on the picture. _

On the other side, beaming like his face might split, was Grandpa. Exactly like I remember him- except for some absent gray hair- proud as punch and holding a huge ‘Congratulations!’ balloon. Everyone else in the family was present and accounted for- five Uncles, three Aunts, Grandpa, and  _ way too many cousins. _ All of them, all small and bouncing around the photograph and smiling. The adults were smiling, too. A rainbow of faces all centered on Mom and I. A snapshot of smiles, and- I flipped through a couple more pages to make sure- the last time Uncle Lloyd appeared in a photo. Green was still present, though- perfect meadows framing picnic blankets, lush jungles contrasting candy-bright outfits. Still, I found myself scanning every photo for a flash of green and gold.

A dull roar pulled into the driveway, and I didn’t get a chance to shrink into the cushions before Mom burst through the door, calling for me. I saw her turn this way and that through the glass door, dark hair whipping her face with each movement. She turned away, and I spotted the little patch of green near the nape of her neck. An oddity inherited from great-uncle Morro.

“Ro? Rooooo? Where are you?”

“Here, Mom.” 

Immediately, her head whipped toward the study and relief crossed her face. The door opened when she pushed it, and I thanked the stars that I’d forgotten to lock it- unlocked doors make hugs way easier.

She plopped herself down on the couch and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into her side. We stayed there for a moment, just enjoying each others’ silent company. Of course, the elephant was still in the room.

“I heard what happened,” she said in a small voice, her grip tightening on my shoulder. Her voice switched, going from somber to concerned. “How are you feeling?” 

“To be honest? A little scared.” My voice quavered, giving me away. “A lot scared.”

“Yeah, I felt that way too.” Mom put her hand on the top of my head, patting the shock of green that marked my place in the family. She went weirdly quiet then, like she did when she wanted me to figure something out in a math problem. Her words tumbled in my head, one by one until I found the one I was looking for.

“‘Felt’?”

Mom’s face split into a smile, and I knew I was right. “Ronin, the first thing you need to know about this kind of stuff is that  _ you’re not alone.”  _ Her other hand slid over the scrapbook in my lap, flipping the pages with a series of funny noises. “Before me, there was Morro.”

Our eyes darted to the corner of the room, to her desk and he pictures that adorned it. The oldest picture was arguably the most important- the oldest known Master of Wind, sitting awkwardly in robes that would never fit him. I smiled a bit- no matter how much we looked alike, I looked cooler- his hair reached his chin, but I’d gotten mine cut short. I looked at my mom, sporting a cool pixie, and decided it suited us.

“And before him, there were other Masters of Wind. They’re not here anymore, but isn’t it nice to know you’re not the first?” I nodded along, and she continued. The flipping stopped, and I didn’t have to look to know the picture she stopped on. “Still, you have me, and your Uncles and Aunts,” her finger glided over each of them, smiling back at us from a moment frozen in time. “And you have all of your cousins, right?” 

I nodded, then laughed a little. “How many cousins do I even have? I mean, I know Eddie and Maya and Louis and Cyra and- God, what’s Uncle Kai’s kid’s name again?”

Mom thought for a second, counting my cousins on her fingers. “Vix, I think. Or maybe Bones? They tend to change it every few years.”

“I haven’t even seen them in a few years!” I protested, twisting to look her in the face. Her features twisted, tightening, and she suddenly wouldn’t look me in the eye. 

“Well, your cousins are away training.” Her voice quavered, betraying her. Is she sad? Nervous? Why? Discomfort and fear rose in my throat, hot and cold at the same time.

“With  _ whom? _ ” The emotion in my head spilled out in words that sounded much harsher, and so much  _ angrier  _ than I felt. I wasn’t angry, I had no reason to be. “I don’t want to go off with someone like Wu, Mom.”

She breathed out, features melting into relief and she pulled me into a hug. She smelled like coffee, and wildflowers, and leather- a combination commonly known as ‘ _ home’ _ in the family. Fingers ran through my hair, and I could just hear her whisper;

“It’s your Uncle Lloyd, honey.”

I gasped- I couldn’t help it. I hadn’t seen him in years. Stories fluttered up from my memory- powers and sacrifices unmatched by hundreds of villains and ancient evils. A million different thoughts zoomed through my head- green and gold and a hundred hands pulling me in different directions- before I squeezed my eyes shut and made a decision.

“You’ll call, right?”

“Every day, my love. As many times as you need.”

I searched for the words, and they came to me. Repeated thousands of times over ten years, whispered between friends and relations. A motto, a mantra. A code.

“It’s time to be great.”


	24. Final Findings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3rd person POV

Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon was dead to the world.

At least, he liked to tell himself that. After sixteen apocalypses, countless battles, and the single greatest heartbreak of his life, the Green Ninja was teetering on the edge. He remembered it well; he had been standing on a glass mountain, knowing every second he could be sent shattering into the darkness. He’d tried to get better, but nothing worked- therapists made him panic, medications stole his sleep, and those fake ‘home help’ websites did nothing but waste his time and money. For- what was it? Three years? Four? The days and weeks and months blurred together, murky puddles of candy-colored uniforms and helping hands keeping him from tipping over. 

Then, he got a call from the hospital.

A stroke, the nurse had said, just a simple blockage in the brain- Lloyd hadn’t heard anything else, the woman’s words blurred together as his heart hummed into overdrive and he was-

_ Falling falling falling _

It had happened so suddenly, they had been driving together and they were both so old it was only a matter of-

_ Falling falling falling _

He couldn’t bring himself to go into the room, the room kept so cold they wouldn’t like it, they hate the cold why is it so cold? And through the glass he could see a single pale hand and it wasn’t moving and  _ they’re not moving they’re not- _

_ Falling falling falling- _

He left the next day. Everything he needed went into a single bag. Clothes, money, toothbrush, and a scrapbook he didn’t want but couldn’t leave. He had packed in a hurry, but a hurry was all he had needed- when you live your life on the move, you learn to pack quickly. Nobody stopped him from packing, and nobody stopped him from walking to the door. All they gave him were looks and words; he could still feel the memories branded onto his skin.

_ “Be careful” _

_ “Be safe” _

_ “Be sure” _

_ “Good luck” _

_ “Goodbye” _

_ “We love you” _

If he tried, he could trace the letters where they settled on his shoulders. It was better now- glowing into existence at a random thought. They used to burn.

All at once, he was out- of the ship, his home, his job, his life. People looked at him and looked away- there were no autographs, no mobs of fans, no tiny children waving tinier dolls wearing poorly painted green robes. He saw himself on television, and not one head turned his way. Lloyd found himself a ghost in his life, passing through without weight or hindrance.

_ Exhilarating. _

If he looked back into his memory now, he could try to retrace his steps- but not without error. His footsteps muddied the continent, a faint trail of green and gold doubling back and blinking out for weeks at a time. He didn’t remember exactly when or even  _ how _ , but he ended up where it all started- of course, the team was never quite done with the monastery, were they? Over and over, the red-and-white walls were the ones they had called home; one more time wouldn’t hurt.

It was years before the first one showed up- very long, very lonely years. His hair got longer, and his heart got heavier, but he didn’t leave. Every time Lloyd had thought of stepping down from the mountain, panic struck him and once again the doors would have to close again. It seemed for the longest time that the Green Ninja would spend forever and ever wasting away in what used to be his home.

He was foolish to think the other Elementals would let him go that easily.

In the dead of winter of the second or third year, the first one arrived. A girl, not quite middle school age, with eyes and hair the color of solid steel. Her accent gave her away, and by the end of the day, Energy was battling Metal for the first time in what felt like forever. Anya had a stubborn streak to match her father’s, and neither combatant was willing to throw the match despite their respective ages. That night, Lloyd slept soundly.

A letter went out, and the children came in. One at first, then another and another until the dorms had to expand underground. The kitchen filled with laughter and the training course never wanted for use- in a month or so the entire monastery went from a single resident to over a dozen. Despite his age- he wasn’t even thirty- Lloyd found himself making a list of everyone he taught.

_ Anya- Metal, gray hair/eyes, constantly wants to fight everyone. _

_ Newt- Gravity, wears a turban, fear of heights (???). _

_ Sara- Mind, one blue and one brown eye, hates sword training but likes cooking. _

The list grew longer, and inch by inch Lloyd got used to being in a group again.

However, he wasn’t used to teaching.

He wasn’t used to being called ‘Sensei’.

He  _ really  _ wasn’t ready when a familiar face showed up at the door.

Of course, it wasn’t actually Jay- the Master of Lightning was never that short. As he looked closer, other little differences popped up between his big brother and the kid who stood before him. His hair was darker, and his eyes had more of an almond shape to them- but Lloyd wasn’t sure until the boy spoke. Forcing his twitching hands to his sides, the little one opened his mouth as wide as it would go and shouted his name to the heavens.

“My name is Edward Smith-Walker,” he announced, droplets of water swirling around his head. “and I am here to train!”

‘Eddie’ was swept up by a storm of children just his age, and just like that, a new Elemental had joined the school- and Lloyd started having to remind himself not call the kid ‘Jay’ about thirty million times per day. Of course, the differences were apparent- Eddie was quiet where his father would’ve been loud, and leaned more toward poetry than mechanics.

The real slap in the face came when Maya showed up.

There was no debating exactly who was her mom- the face that showed up at the door was Nya, through and through. Same hair, same eyes, same  _ everything _ . The only difference between the two was a group of exactly three freckles that dotted under Maya’s right eye, like a built-in monocle. Though younger, the newest Master of Lightning proved herself formidable in battle- nearly wiping Anya out on the first try.

“Looks like her mother, powers like her dad, and a temper like her uncle,” Lloyd had muttered to himself, “she’s either going to save the world or blow it up.”

The next whiplash came in a group of three; silver, black, and red in turn.

Cyra’s eyes blinked between blue and green, an homage to both of her nindroid parents. She struggled with nothing but socializing, and her cousins were more than happy to help. A book of 1001 jokes later, the monastery had a resident comedian. Someone suggested a joke competition, which evolved into Friday night talent shows- winner gets to skip dishes for a day.

Louis (call me Wes) had the voice of an angel and a face to match- not that anyone could see it through the thick mop of hair he refused to tame. One of the girls (or maybe all of them) once coaxed him into wearing a ponytail, and he spent the rest of that day sprinting through the mountains with his teacher- his green eyes sharp with determination. Lloyd had never met Cole’s wife- may she rest in peace- but she must’ve been extraordinary to raise a kid like Wes.

Candice turned into Vix, then Bones, before deciding on a name they liked- Morgan, for a mythical sorcerer of old. Hair like fire proved a red herring; the kid kept calm longer than any of the others (how exactly Lloyd would never know). If asked, they would compare themself to a candle, with the ability to destroy but never the motivation. If someone was frustrated (and with over a dozen kids in a compound, who  _ could _ say calm?) and Sensei Lloyd was busy, everybody knew that a talk with Morgan could make everything better.

Everything went fine- over time, the oldest students went off to make names for themselves. The ‘Garmadon School for Heroes’, as the media called it, continued to run unbothered. Every once in a while, a reporter would try to sneak in and coax answers from anybody standing close by. The one lesson the kids never needed was how to deal with the unwanted press.

_ “Our teacher does not need to answer to you,”  _ Louis would snap from behind a punching dummy.

_ “This is a private institution, please leave.”  _ Cyra would say softly, tugging the offending reporter toward the door.

_ “Come here one more time and I’ll smash your freakin’ camera.”  _ Maya often yelled, angry sparks flying from her skin.

Lloyd quietly decided not to have kids- he had no desire to, and even less of a drive to shift the burden of being the Master of Energy onto someone else. He would train the next generation, and his power would die with him. He was ready to train his students, to be an uncle, to see them grow up.

He just wasn’t ready for the next child to show up at his door.

For the first time, the kid at the door wasn’t alone, and maybe that was for the best- the other new arrivals had been at least twelve, and the little boy at the door wasn’t quite ten. Lloyd found himself frozen- even before looking at who he was with, it was clear who’s son he was. Eyes so dark you couldn’t see the pupils. A tuft of green popped against his black hair, and a purple t-shirt highlighted the yellow undertone in his tan skin. 

“He looks like you,” Lloyd said in disbelief.

“I sure hope he does,” said his little sister, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

She looked so much more grown-up than he remembered- that pixie cut really suited her- but it was still the same Dawn. He felt tears well up in his eyes and before anything else could happen Lloyd felt himself pulled into a hug.

“I missed you,” he choked.

“I missed you too,” Dawn said, and when they pulled out of the hug he could see the tears on her face. 

The little boy introduced himself as Ronin II. When prompted- partially by Lloyd, partially by his mother, and a lot by the kids in the monastery, he demonstrated his power. Harnessing the mountain wind, the little boy made boulders rise and fall with ease. The rocks danced across the sky with a flair Lloyd had only seen once before- albiet with marbles instead of pieces of a mountain. By the time he was done, Ronin was exhausted- but the impression had been made.

“It would be my honor to train you,” Lloyd said, and within a second the child was drowned in a wave of friends and cousins, off to hone his power to perfection.

“Dawn-” Lloyd started- the girl had already turned to go. “Dawn, wait!”

To his relief, she turned back around. She stood there, waiting, and he felt the words stick in his mouth. “Would you like to have a cup of tea?”

She paused for a second, before smiling and jogging back up to meet him.

“I’d love to, big brother.”

For the first time, there was no apocalypse to stop- no cults, no snakes, no otherworldly whatchamacallits to ruin their day.

Lloyd and Dawn, brother and sister, walked arm in arm to laugh together on a bright summer day. 

The wind rustled through the trees, and everything was  _ perfect.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's DOOOONE!  
> Good gosh, that took forever. I got straight As, started two other fics and a third one that's not even on AO3 yet, and took way too long to finish the last two chapters of this fic.  
> Good god.  
> It's done.  
> I'm free!  
> Hope you liked it! If you have any fic ideas, feel free to message me on here!
> 
> -mintyink_the_amateur


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